What does the fall of PLA top brass Zhang Youxia say about Beijing’s Taiwan plans?

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 1 min read 50% complete by Yuanyue Dang,William Zheng,Jun MaiFebruary 3, 2026 at 11:00 PM
What does the fall of PLA top brass Zhang Youxia say about Beijing’s Taiwan plans?

Article Content

short article 1 min
Beijing’s bold move to remove top generals accused of corruption reflects its strategic assessment that overhauling the armed forces is more urgent, and that the issue of Taiwan can wait, according to military analysts.The investigation into China’s top commanders, Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, has left the Central Military Commission (CMC), the country’s highest military command body, with just two members at present – President Xi Jinping, who is chairman of the CMC, and vice-chairman Zhang Shengmin, who oversees the anti-corruption drive within the military.This has raised questions about the battle readiness of the world’s largest fighting force and Beijing’s ability to mount large-scale military operations, such as one targeting Taiwan.However, most analysts interviewed by the China-morning-post" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="12558" data-entity-type="organization">South China Morning Post agreed that any disruption would be short-lived.01:12Two top Chinese military generals removed, under investigation for ‘serious violations’

Source Transparency

Source
South China Morning Post
Political Lean
Center-Right (0.50)
Far LeftCenterFar Right
Classification Confidence
85%

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