00:00You
00:40With investigations announced against top commanders and nearly two...
00:45Three-thirds of senior officers now sidelined or under scrutiny.
00:48A chilling question is surfacing far beyond Beijing.
00:53Is she consolidating absolute control or does this expose fear?
01:15Joint Staff Department has also fallen. Their removal leaves the Supreme
01:20Military Command effectively reduced to Xi Jinping himself and
01:25one other loyalist overseeing discipline.
01:30In a system built on hierarchy and stability, this kind of vacuum
01:35is extraordinary and deeply unsettling.
01:40Timing is everything. The Purge comes just ahead of two
01:45critical milestones, the Communist Party's 21st Congress and the PLA
01:50's 100th anniversary, both central to Xi's
01:55vision of a modern, loyal fighting force.
02:00Chinese state media insists this is about discipline and anti-corruption.
02:05But analysts say removing such senior figures this close to major
02:10political events is risky unless she believes the threat is real.
02:15State outlets accused the generals
02:20of undermining the CMC chairman responsibility system. The doctor
02:25that gives Xi final say over every military decision.
02:30This accusation is critical. It suggests not just corruption, but disloyalty.
02:35The ultimate red line in Xi's China.
02:40PLA language, this is as close as Beijing gets to accusing senior officers
02:45of challenging the leader himself.
02:50Zhang Yaoxia's downfall is especially shocking. He wasn't just a top
02:55general. He was a trusted insider with family ties to Xi Jinping, dating
03:00back to the Civil War era, promoted despite being past retirement age.
03:05Zhang was seen as untouchable. His sudden removal sends a brutal message
03:10loyalty offers no immunity if Xi senses even a hint of deceit.
03:15Does this mean Xi fears a coup? Chinese leadership will never say
03:20it, but history offers clues. Authoritarian systems
03:25often purge elites not when they are strongest, but when leaders fear fragmentation.
03:30With economic stress, global pressure, and rising military ambitions
03:35Xi appears determined to leave nothing and no one unchecked.
03:40She calls this self-revolution, purge
03:45the party to preserve its rule. But revolutions inside armies are never
03:50without risk. By sidelining so many senior officers, she may be
03:55tightening control, or quietly admitting that absolute power requires
04:00absolute fear. In China's military
04:05military, the message is now unmistakable. Obedience isn't enough.
04:10Only total loyalty ensures survival.
04:15directivism is now to face the методic limit to its
