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Purges continue in China’s military with the ouster of Admiral Miao Hua
The top officer’s removal from the Central Military Commission marks a new phase in the anti-corruption campaign launched by Xi Jinping in the Chinese military. Considered a trusted ally of the president, Miao was responsible for political loyalty in the military. The affair is just another in a long list of dismissals that include a couple of defence ministers and officials linked to the country's nuclear arsenal.
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Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – A new purge has hit China’s top military brass. Admiral Miao Hua, 69, was removed from the Central Military Commission (CMC), the top body that controls China’s military, chaired by President Xi Jinping.
The news was announced yesterday in a statement from the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.
Miao was responsible for political loyalty within the military and was considered a trusted ally of Xi. His ouster continues the wave of anti-corruption purges launched by the Chinese government that has led to the removal of more than a dozen senior military officials since last year.
Miao’s picture has already been removed from the Ministry of Defence’s website, a sign that his downfall is final.
According to state-run Xinhua, the CMC’s Political Work Department at a meeting on 14 March also voted to remove him as representative at the 14th National People’s Congress. However, no official explanation has been provided as to why the move was made.
According to internal sources, Miao was suspended from the CMC in 2024, when he was investigated for “serious violations of discipline,” a term that in Communist Party parlance is generally used to indicate corruption.
Last April, Miao was expelled from National People’s Congress without any details being made public.
President Xi Jinping had personally promoted Miao to the CMC. The two had known each other for years since both worked in the coastal province of Fujian.
This personal connection made his removal even more significant amid internal power struggles at the top of the People's Republic.
The recent purges also affected two former defence ministers and several officers of the mysterious Rocket Force, the unit in charge of China's nuclear arsenal.
The investigation, launched in 2023, focuses mainly on alleged irregularities in military equipment procurement after 2017.
Another CMC member, General He Weidong, China’s second-ranking general, has also not appeared in public since 11 March. He has been absent from numerous official events, and this has fuelled rumours of a possible detention. However, the Ministry of Defence said it is "unaware" of any reports of his detention, and his picture is still on the ministry’s website.
Despite a tense climate and rumours of possible involvement in corruption, Defence Minister Dong Jun continues to attend public events, such as this week’s SCO summit in Qingdao.
The People’s Liberation Army, one of the country’s most powerful institutions, appears increasingly under the direct control of Xi Jinping, who has made for years the fight against corruption one of the pillars of his leadership, as well as using it to consolidate his power and remove people deemed too independent.
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