PLA Leaders Lay Low Amid Military Purge

Military commanders avoided trips and limited activities during the Chinese New Year to avoid being targeted in the purge, insiders said.

Members of the Chinese military delegation arrive at the closing session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 12, 2026. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

China’s military commanders kept a low profile during the Chinese New Year as ongoing purges reached the highest level of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), insiders and observers of the PLA told The Epoch Times.

In January, China’s defense ministry announced investigations into the PLA’s second and fourth most senior officials, Gen. Zhang Youxia, a member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo and the senior vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and Gen. Liu Zhenli, a member of the CMC who also serves as chief of the Joint Staff Department of the CMC.