Posted by Bill Ryan
(here)
DD Geopolitics has just posted this, which was very interesting and may well be accurate.
https://t.me/DDGeopolitics/172036
~~~
Anti-Corruption Purge as a Moment of Truth for China’s Military
Op-ed by our friend and Sinologist Azat Rakhmanov
On January 31, the Chinese Ministry of Defense newspaper
Jiefangjun Bao (
PLA Daily) published an editorial titled
“Firmly Believe in the Inevitable Victory of the Anti-Corruption Struggle and the Inevitability of Building a Strong Army”, addressing the investigation involving
Zhang Youxia and
Liu Zhenli.
After reading it, one gets the impression this was not simply a news item about personnel decisions. It was a deliberate political signal — both to China itself and to the outside world — which for the past two weeks has been trying to understand what exactly is happening inside the Chinese system. The article makes it clear that China’s military has entered a phase where even symbolic figures are no longer protected by their status, rank, or past achievements.
The anti-corruption campaign in the PLA has long ceased to be an internal disciplinary process. It has become part of a broader transformation of the state and the armed forces — a painful but deliberate “recasting” of the leadership and command structure. The editorial states this in the harshest terms: in the fight against corruption, there are no forbidden zones and no exceptions. This is not about isolated show cases, but about a systematic demonstration of one principle — that everyone is equal before Party discipline and the law.
Another point matters just as much: the article openly acknowledges that such purges inevitably bring short-term shocks and internal tension. Normally, central Chinese media avoids admitting that tension exists. Here, however, it is explicitly stated that instability and turbulence may be considered an acceptable price for a strategic result — restoring control, loyalty, and combat readiness. In the logic of the authors — in other words, of China’s leadership — it is better to endure the “pain of cleansing” than to leave hidden pockets of decay inside the system.
The editorial is written in a deliberately historical tone. The army is presented not merely as a security institution, but as a carrier of revolutionary legitimacy and statehood. Corruption in its ranks is therefore treated not as an isolated evil, but as a threat to the political foundation of the country itself. This explains the uncompromising language: corrupt officials will “always be placed at the shameful pillar of history.”
For an outside observer, the article also serves as a reminder: China is not planning to build a world-class army through compromise and half-measures. Political control, ideological discipline, and personal accountability are framed as key elements of military modernization. In China’s model, a strong army is impossible without rigid internal hierarchy and unconditional loyalty to the center — meaning, ultimately, to
Xi Jinping.
The investigation into top-ranking officers is, in effect, a moment of truth for the entire system. It shows that the CCP leadership understands “building a strong army” not only as expanding weapons production, but as a deep institutional purge. That is the main substance — and the central meaning — of today’s anti-corruption campaign.
Reading the article, one can’t help thinking: if victory could be achieved through declarations alone, China would have ruled the world long ago.
A joke, of course. I do not believe China intends to rule the world.
But reading such delayed editorials once again shows how much we have in common with the Chinese. We too love loud, toothless statements — usually made too late, after “Western voices” and Telegram experts have already uncovered everything and explained it to us. Then we realize that Chinese-Russian secrets have long been leaked to the Americans, and once again, the damage is done.
If
Jiefangjun Bao had published this editorial a week and a half earlier, the domestic effect inside China would have been different — and fewer rumors would have spread worldwide about “moles in the Chinese government.”
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