Xi Jinping’s Military Purge Seeks Absolute Loyalty

When Xi Jinping urged China to remember Yan’an, he invoked the Mao-era “rectification” campaign that turned guerrilla fighters into a disciplined force under a single leader. Three weeks after that appeal, the military’s top commander, Gen. Zhang Youxia — once seen as a confidant of Mr.

Xi — was effectively purged. Mr. Xi has called for constant “self revolution” while moving to tighten control over the armed forces. Over the past three years he has ousted five of the six generals on the Central Military Commission, leaving only himself and a vice chairman; retired colonel Yue Gang described the sweep as “quite astonishing.” Officials offered little explanation as Mr.

Xi sought to project normalcy: he hosted foreign leaders, convened party meetings and conveyed Lunar New Year greetings to troops he called “completely reliable and trustworthy.” Online discussion was tightly restricted, and official editorials framed the investigation as necessary hygiene — “uprooting sick trees” and “removing hidden cancer” to reforge the military.

China, Yan'an

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