Former top PLA generals expelled from Communist Party for factionalism and disloyalty

Read the original at South China Morning Post ↗
Cite

Zhen, L. (2026, September 21). Former top PLA generals expelled from Communist Party for factionalism and disloyalty. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3368287/former-top-pla-generals-expelled-communist-party-factionalism-and-disloyalty?utm_source=rss_feed

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

South China Morning Post · collected 2026-09-21 · by Liu Zhen

Quick Summary

Former top PLA generals Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli have been expelled from the Chinese Communist Party for factionalism and disloyalty. Both are accused of violating party discipline severely and suspected of serious duty-related crimes. Notably, Zhang was a member of the 24-member Politburo, while Liu served as a Central Military Commission (CMC) member and previously held the position of chief of its Joint Staff Department.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-21, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

On September 21, 2026, the Chinese Communist Party expelled two high-ranking military officers, Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, for serious violations including corruption and disloyalty to the party. Zhang was previously seen as President Xi Jinping's closest military ally and held a senior position in the Central Military Commission (CMC), while Liu served as chief of staff of its Joint Staff Department. The pair were stripped of their positions earlier in August due to "serious violations of discipline and law," commonly implying corruption. Xinhua news agency reported that investigations revealed exceptionally large sums involved in their alleged misconduct, though specific details remain undisclosed. This expulsion underscores Xi's ongoing anti-corruption campaign and his efforts to consolidate power by eliminating potential rivals within the military hierarchy.

Written for “Chinese Military Purge” on 2026-10-16, grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Chinese Military Purge
Politics · 7 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
ABC News (AU)
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 7% hedged 1 of 15 📰 publisher trust 70
“Both articles describe the expulsion of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli from the Communist Party on the same date, indicating it's the same specific incident.”
Times of India
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 13 📰 publisher trust 59
“Both articles report on the expulsion of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli from the Chinese Communist Party for serious violations, at the same date.”
The Hindu
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 9 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles report on the expulsion of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli from the Communist Party on September 21, 2026.”
Semafor
⚖️ Leans right 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 4 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles report on the expulsion of two top PLA generals, Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, for factionalism and disloyalty on the same date.”
Al Jazeera
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 11 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles report on the expulsion of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli from the Communist Party for similar reasons at the same time.”
South China Morning Post
⚖️ Leans right 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 2 📰 publisher trust 64
“Both articles discuss the expulsion of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli from the Communist Party and PLA, indicating it's the same specific incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
2
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 2 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
South China Morning Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
7
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-21 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

South China Morning Post · 2432 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Liu Zhen
13 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
🔮 Vehicle may have sparked Mongolia wildfire, putting China rescuers on high alert 3,400 emergency personnel deployed to the Chinese side of the border to combat the latest environmental threat from its neighbour The blaze, which erupted on October 8 in the inland country’s easternmost Dornod province bordering Russia and China, advanced rapidly towards China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region, driven by strong autumn winds and drought conditions.
🔮 Chinese researchers make Arctic-to-Antarctic call using rival to Musk’s Starlink The Guowang network’s deployment is at an early stage, with around 180 satellites in orbit compared to Starlink’s 11,000 2-MIN READ2-MIN Listen Polar researchers have used a would-be Chinese rival to Elon Musk’s Starlink to make a satellite video call between the Arctic and Antarctic – the first publicly reported test of the Guowang constellation. The call highlights the growing capabilities of the country’s satellite constellations, according to state media.
🔮 It will be the first AI-driven geological map of the planet and aims to be the global standard, chief scientist on Tianwen-3 mission says China plans to complete a geological map of Mars by the end of 2028, as the red planet increasingly features in its space rivalry with the United States. State news agency Xinhua reported that the map would be the first AI-driven geological map of Mars and would be an important part of preparations for the Tianwen-3 mission.
🔮 The Chinese roots of ‘gung-ho’ as Trump and Xi look to shared history Trump’s mention of a ‘Chinese phrase’ may have puzzled some, but the US Marine Corps adopted gung-ho from the name of wartime cooperatives Chinese viewers watching Donald Trump welcome Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday may have been puzzled by the US president’s reference to the “Chinese phrase” gung-ho.
🔮 So, as Chinese President Xi Jinping is about to arrive in Washington on Wednesday, local time, there is one object that may offer a small moment of entertaining comparison between the two American leaders: Xi’s car.
🔮 China names new Tibet party chief as Communist Party reshuffles regional leadership Hu Changsheng takes top Tibet post as regional transfers offer clues about broader political line-up ahead of national party congress Meanwhile, Luo Dongchuan, 60, Qinghai’s governor, will succeed Wu as party secretary of the province.
🔮 The Japanese Nikkei newspaper reported last week that the planned AI-equipped satellites would be capable of analysing surveillance intelligence in space.
🔮 Naval vessels homeported outside the United States are not strictly prohibited from receiving foreign MRO services and deployed US-homeported ships may also be serviced by foreign workers under specific conditions.
Also by Liu Zhen
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 13 articles by Liu Zhen →

Topics

CMC Communist Party PLA Politburo the Communist Party’s

Subjects

CMC ORG · 1× Communist Party ORG · 1× Joint Staff Department ORG · 1× Liu PERSON · 1× Liu Zhenli PERSON · 1× PLA ORG · 1× Politburo ORG · 1× Zhang PERSON · 1× Zhang Youxia PERSON · 1× the Communist Party’s ORG · 1×

Narrative

Former top PLA generals expelled from Communist Party for factionalism and disloyalty Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli both accused of severe violations of party discipline and suspected of serious duty-related crimes Zhang was also a member of the Communist Party’s 24-member Politburo.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-21
2026-09-21 · South China Morning Post
Former top PLA generals expelled from Communist Party for factionalism and disloyalty · assertive framing

Claims (2 extracted, 0 hedged)

Former top PLA generals expelled from Communist Party for factionalism and disloyalty Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli both accused of severe violations of party discipline and suspected of serious duty-related crimes Zhang was also a member of the Communist Party’s 24-member Politburo. asserted
Zhang → expel → Politburo
Liu was a CMC member as well and formerly served as chief of its Joint Staff Department. asserted
Liu → serve → Department
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support