Following a wave of high-level purges, China’s military leadership has recently seen unexplained absences and even rumors of suicide.
The Epoch Times was unable to independently verify reports regarding He Weidong’s rumored suicide.
In an interview with The Epoch Times, current affairs commentator Tang Jingyuan said that all of the recent military purges have exclusively targeted Xi’s allies, while members of other factions have remained untouched. He suggested that Gen. Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the CMC, with the support of Communist Party elders, is orchestrating a purge of Xi’s faction.
A veteran of the 1979 Sino–Vietnamese War, 74-year-old Zhang is one of the few princelings with actual combat experience—a distinction that has earned him respect within both the Chinese military and the upper echelons of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
“Princelings” refers to the descendants of the CCP’s top leaders, many of whom are considered founding figures of communist China and played key roles in the revolution and early years of the regime.
Zhang’s powerful background enables him to push back against Xi’s authority, particularly if he perceives the anti-corruption campaign as a threat. The campaign has already ensnared some of his former subordinates, including the purged former defense ministers, Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe.
Sydney-based Chinese dissident Yuan Hongbing, citing an insider, told The Epoch Times on May 20 that it was Gen. Zhang Shengmin, the top anti-corruption official in the military, who led the series of purges, including of the former defense ministers and within the Rocket Force and the PLA’s Strategic Support Force.
Zhang Shengmin is widely regarded as aligned with Zhang Youxia, with the two having developed a close relationship through their overlapping roles in the military and shared connections.
Current affairs commentator Li Linyi noted that if Zhang Shengming is indeed leading the ongoing purge, it would further indicate that Xi’s grip on military power is weakening, with personnel decisions increasingly falling under Zhang Youxia’s control.
Yuan, a former Peking University law professor, previously told The Epoch Times, citing the same insider source, that Xi had intended for Miao Hua, director of the Political Work Department of the CMC, to succeed Zhang Youxia as vice chairman of the CMC. However, Miao’s alleged “political disloyalty” led to Xi’s disillusionment.
The insider—a well-placed source within the CCP—revealed that upon Miao’s detention, he provided information implicating more than 1,300 military personnel, including nearly 100 generals, many of whom had been appointed by Xi.
According to the insider, Xi was deeply shaken by Miao’s revelations, leading to his hair “turning gray overnight.”
The source also described harsh interrogation methods used by the CCP, including sleep deprivation and solitary confinement in “coffin-like” cells—conditions that have reportedly driven some officials to choose suicide rather than endure the torture and humiliation.
Drawing information from his source, Yuan further described the “coffin-like” cell as being “kept completely dark, with only a small round skylight in the ceiling through which food is dropped to the detainee each day.”
“The space is indeed coffin-like in size, and all bodily functions take place within the same cramped area, where a simple drainage channel runs through the floor. Most people held in such conditions reportedly break down and confess to everything within a week,” he said.
Given these harsh conditions, Yuan suggested that He Weidong’s reported suicide is plausible.
Zhou Guogang, a former senior official who defected to the United States, previously told the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times that many officials are sentenced to death each year, but these cases are never made public.
Yuan added that the entire military is currently in a state of turmoil, with widespread fear among officers.
