Top Chinese General Vows to Crack Down on Fake Loyalty.

4 hours ago7 min read1 comments

In a stark declaration that resonates with the gravity of a wartime address, General Zhang Youxia, the vice-chairman of China's Central Military Commission and a senior Politburo member, has vowed to purge the People's Liberation Army of 'fake loyalty' and 'two-faced men,' framing this internal rectification as a paramount national security imperative. This pledge was not made in a closed-door briefing but published as a significant policy article within a collection supporting the Communist Party's strategic recommendations for its 15th five-year plan, spanning 2026 to 2030.The context of this pronouncement is critical; it arrives at a moment of profound geopolitical tension and internal consolidation of power under President Xi Jinping. General Zhang's rhetoric echoes historical precedents of political purification within authoritarian structures, reminiscent of past campaigns where ideological conformity was deemed as vital as military might.The term 'two-faced men' is particularly evocative, suggesting a deep-seated paranoia about officials who publicly pledge allegiance while privately harboring dissent or corruption, a concern that has plagued monolithic party-states throughout history, from the Soviet *nomenklatura* to other single-party regimes. This call for ideological purity is intrinsically linked to his concurrent demand to 'speed up weapons development' in the coming half-decade.This dual focus reveals a strategic calculus: a belief that technological supremacy, particularly in domains like hypersonic missiles, cyber warfare, and naval power projection, is hollow without an officer corps of unwavering political reliability. One can draw a parallel to Churchill's famous observation on the Royal Air Force, but here the sentiment is inverted; never have so many owed their security to the absolute loyalty of so few at the top.The broader collection of articles, penned by dozens of senior officials, signals a coordinated effort to set a tone of discipline and innovation for the next planning period. Analysts watching Beijing interpret this as a clear signal that the PLA, the armed wing of the Party, is being further hardened in preparation for prolonged strategic competition, primarily with the United States.The emphasis on rooting out disloyalty suggests that recent purges within the military and security apparatus may continue, or even intensify, as China seeks to fortify itself against external pressures and internal vulnerabilities. The consequences of this policy are multifaceted: domestically, it could lead to a further chilling effect on military discourse and promote a culture of suspicion, while internationally, it signals a China increasingly focused on self-reliance and the perfection of its command-and-control systems, making it a more predictable yet potentially more rigid adversary. This is not merely an administrative directive; it is a profound statement on the fusion of party, state, and military in contemporary China, a fusion that General Zhang is now tasked with making unbreakable.

#featured

#China

#People's Liberation Army

#loyalty

#political education

#military modernization

#five-year plan

#General Zhang Youxia

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