On January 25, the PLA Daily published an editorial stating:
“Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli ...have seriously betrayed the trust and heavy responsibility entrusted by the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission, seriously trampled on and undermined the system of responsibility of the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, seriously fueled and affected political and corruption problems that weaken the Party’s absolute leadership over the military and endanger the Party’s governing foundation, seriously damaged the image and authority of the Central Military Commission leadership collective, and seriously impacted the political and ideological foundation of unity and striving throughout the entire armed forces.
"They have caused enormous damage to the military’s political construction, political ecology, and combat effectiveness building, and have had extremely negative impacts on the Party, the state, and the military.
"Investigating and handling Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli in accordance with discipline and law will certainly further rectify the political order, eliminate ideological toxins and abuses, remove corruption and regenerate organizational vitality, consolidate and deepen the results of political rectification, promote the rebirth and renewal of the People’s Army, and inject powerful momentum into the development of the cause of strengthening the military.”
The phrase “seriously trampled on and undermined the system of responsibility of the Chairman of the Central Military Commission” clearly indicates that Zhang Youxia once disobeyed Xi Jinping’s orders and sidelined Xi Jinping. This is equivalent to indirectly acknowledging that Xi Jinping once lost, or partially lost, control of the military.
The editorial also mentions, “Investigating and handling Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli in accordance with discipline and law will certainly further rectify the political order and eliminate ideological toxins…”
This also shows that the problems of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli are political and ideological issues, not issues of corruption or selling the country’s nuclear secrets.
If he really sold the country’s nuclear secrets and this had already been reported to senior military officials, why could it not be directly disclosed to the entire Chinese society?
If “nuclear secrets” are of such major importance that they cannot be made public, then why is it acceptable for people who can attend Chinese senior military meetings to openly leak this information to the “American imperialist” Wall Street Journal? Is that not a leak of state secrets?
Why is it that matters known to and reported by the Wall Street Journal are things that Chinese citizens are not qualified to know?
There are far too many things that do not make sense.
Let us wait and see what follows.
1/27/2026
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