Major Incident in the Eastern Theater Command: No News Updates for Over a Month

Caption: On October 13, 2022, ahead of the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, security personnel were stationed along the road leading to Tiananmen Square. (NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)

[People News] Recently, multiple high-ranking officers in the Chinese military have reportedly been purged once again. Following rumors that Central Military Commission Vice Chairman He Weidong was taken away after the conclusion of the Two Sessions, former senior Chinese media professional Zhao Lanjian broke another major story on March 25: On March 22, Wang Houbin, commander of the PLA Rocket Force, was arrested on the spot in his office. The director of the military office was dismissed, and over 100 to 200 officers at or above the corps level were either removed from their posts or reassigned, spanning multiple military branches. This suggests that internal power struggles within the military have escalated significantly.

On the same day, independent commentator Cai Shenkun also exclusively reported that Lin Xiangyang, commander of the Eastern Theater Command, and Wang Xiubin, former commander of the Southern Theater Command, had been arrested. This information allegedly came from a friend familiar with military affairs in Fujian. Lin Xiangyang previously served as deputy commander of the 31st Group Army and commander of the 47th Group Army and was a long-time subordinate of He Weidong in the 31st Army. According to this source, the arrests of He Weidong and Lin Xiangyang are not only linked to Miao Hua but, more importantly, are related to the leak of Taiwan Strait battle plans, as they were key figures in operations concerning Taiwan.

However, neither report mentioned whether General Liu Qingsong, political commissar of the Eastern Theater Command, was also affected. Born in 1963 in Shandong, Liu Qingsong has held various political roles in the Air Force, including political director, deputy political commissar, and political commissar of an aviation division. He later served as deputy director of the Political Department of the Guangzhou Military Region Air Force and as political commissar of the Wuhan Air Force Command Post. In January 2016, he was appointed director of the Political Work Department of the Northern Theater Air Force. In January 2017, he became deputy director of the Air Force’s Political Work Department. By July 2018, he had been promoted to political commissar of the Eastern Theater Navy and deputy political commissar of the Eastern Theater Command. In January 2022, he became political commissar of the Northern Theater Command, only to be transferred back to the Eastern Theater Command in June 2023. His career trajectory suggests he has the trust of Xi Jinping’s faction.

On April 11, 2023, while inspecting the Southern Theater Navy, Xi Jinping emphasized the need to "approach and handle military issues from a political perspective." On July 6, during an inspection of the Eastern Theater Command headquarters, he reiterated the same point, urging officials to "dare to struggle, be good at struggle… and maintain stability in surrounding regions." As the executor of Xi’s directives, Liu Qingsong is tasked with both confronting Taiwan and maintaining stability in the Taiwan Strait and East China Sea. If He Weidong and Lin Xiangyang were arrested for leaking Taiwan Strait military plans, can Liu Qingsong truly remain unaffected? How many other officers in the Eastern Theater Command are implicated?

Based on the PLA and Ministry of National Defense websites, compared to other theater commands, the Eastern Theater Command appears to have encountered a significant crisis, as there have been no news updates for a month and a half. The last article related to the Eastern Theater Command was published on February 11, titled "An Army Brigade of the Eastern Theater Command Enhances Synthetic Training Efficiency by Integrating Network Information Capabilities."

In contrast, other theater commands have continued updating their news: Southern Theater Command: March 27 – "A Southern Theater Air Force Base Actively Builds a Joint Training Platform"; March 25 – "An Air Force Brigade Develops an Intelligent Management System." 

Western Theater Command: March 25 – "An Army Brigade in the Western Theater Command Enhances Political Education to Keep Up with the Times"; March 19 – "A Western Theater Air Force Brigade Explores a 'Three-in-One' Interactive Teaching Model."

Northern Theater Command: March 20 – "A Northern Theater Air Force Brigade Earnestly Studies and Implements the Spirit of the National Two Sessions." March 17 – "A Northern Theater Air Force Brigade Conducts Long-Range Mobility Drills." March 15 – "A Northern Theater Navy Aviation Unit Conducts Multi-Aircraft, Long-Endurance Training."

Central Theater Command: March 27 – "A Central Theater Command Dispatch Center Works on the Transportation and Deployment of New Recruits for the First Half of the Year." March 17 – "An Army Brigade in the Central Theater Command Expands the Political Education Instructor Team to Improve Teaching Effectiveness."

However, some news related to units under the Eastern Theater Command has appeared in recent reports. For instance, March 28: "A Brigade of the 72nd Group Army Designs Multiple Political Education Routes to Build an Integrated Classroom System." March 27: "A Brigade of the 71st Group Army Conducts Military Skills Assessments." March 17: The Eastern Theater Command’s official Weibo account reported that "The 73rd Group Army’s New Recruit Regiment Welcomed Its First Batch of New Soldiers for 2023," though this news did not appear on the PLA’s main website. The Eastern Theater Command oversees the 71st, 72nd, and 73rd Group Armies, as well as the Eastern Theater Navy, which has recently conducted several combat-oriented training exercises. Despite these isolated updates, the overall lack of news about the Eastern Theater Command—especially in contrast to the regular updates from other commands—suggests that something major has indeed happened.

According to the "White Paper on National Defense and Military Construction in the New Era" released by the Ministry of National Defense of the Communist Party of China in July 2024, the Chinese military operates under a leadership and management system defined by "military commission management, theater main combat, and military branch main construction." This means that the relationship among the Army Headquarters, theater armies, and group armies is structured as follows: the Army Headquarters serves as the military leadership body under the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China, primarily responsible for the army's construction and management; the theater army acts as the command organization for joint operations under the theater command, tasked with directing army units within the theater to execute combat missions under unified command; the group army, composed of multiple combined brigades, possesses the capability to independently conduct various combat missions, serving as the fundamental unit for the army's strategic and operational actions.

From this, it can be inferred that while significant events may occur in the Eastern Theater Command, their impact on the group armies and navy under its jurisdiction is limited. The slow updates on the military network of the Eastern Theater Command are likely linked to the investigation of its senior leaders. In the absence of directives from higher-ranking officials, junior officers are left waiting.

Does this also suggest that Liu Qingsong has encountered difficulties? After all, when Miao Hua was dismissed last year, there were reports that Liu Qingsong, along with Wang Houbin, Lin Xiangyang, Minister of Defense Dong Jun, and Armed Police Commander Wang Chunning, were also under investigation. These incidents involve senior generals aligned with Xi Jinping, further supporting the notion of Xi's diminishing military authority. 

(First published by the People News)