By ousting his top generals, Xi Jinping has secured absolute control, but has also hollowed out the command structure preparing for possible war over Taiwan.

R ISK COMES naturally to Cheng Li-wun, Taiwan’s opposition leader. She began her career as a student activist in the 1990s, seeking independence for her homeland and castigating the Kuomintang ( KMT ),

On the day Xi Jinping publicly purged his top general, it was business as usual for the People’s Liberation Army, which sent 29 aircraft and six warships towards Taiwan, as it trains for taking the island the Chinese leader insists Beijing must eventually control.

Since mid-2023, at least 60 senior military officers and defense-industry executives have been placed under investigation, removed from public office or abruptly replaced.

China's president was all smiles as he continued to welcome a string of Western leaders to Beijing.

Last weekend, China’s Ministry of National Defence announced that the country’s two most senior generals – Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli – would be removed from office and placed under investigation for serious disciplinary violations.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s decision to place the country’s top-ranking general under investigation is a stunning move that leaves Xi virtually alone at the top of the military hierarchy – raising deep questions about the implications for the world’s largest armed forces,

When Mr Xi talks of promoting the “Yan’an spirit”, he is not suggesting a need for similar bloodletting—Mao’s orgy of violence does not feature in official mythology about the place. But it is intended as a call for ideological purity,