Was General Zhang Youxia one of the ‘big rats’ eating China’s military budget?

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 1 min read 100% complete by Amber WangFebruary 1, 2026 at 11:00 AM

AI Summary

short article 1 min

A recent commentary in the PLA Daily, the official publication of China's military, used the metaphor of "big rats" to describe corrupt officials undermining combat readiness and misusing military spending. This commentary follows the recent, unexplained downfall of two high-ranking generals, Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli. Zhang was the top uniformed officer and first-ranked vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), while Liu was chief of the CMC Joint Staff Department. The PLA Daily emphasized the need to investigate and eliminate those who tamper with military spending. While authorities have not released details about the cases against Zhang and Liu, observers suggest the "big rats" reference may offer insight into their sudden removal.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

PLA Daily 60% China 70% Central Military Commission (CMC) ×270% Liu Zhenli 80% Zhang Youxia ×290% People's Liberation Army (PLA) ×290%

Keywords

military corruption 90% pla budget 80% big rats 80% zhang youxia 70% combat readiness 70% liu zhenli 60% central military commission 60% political metaphor 50%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.40

Source Transparency

Source

South China Morning Post

Political Lean

Center-Right (0.50)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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military corruption pla budget big rats zhang youxia combat readiness liu zhenli central military commission political metaphor

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