Imagine in the United States if Donald Trump purged ("you're fired!") 6 of the 8 members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Imagine!
It would be massive news and provoke intense commentary.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) normally has 8 members: Chairman, Vice Chairman, plus the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, and National Guard Bureau.
Purging 6 of 8 (leaving just Chairman + one other) would gut the top uniformed advisory body, creating a leadership vacuum unprecedented in modern US history.This would trigger:Wall-to-wall media coverage (CNN, Fox, NYT, etc.) framing it as politicization, instability, or authoritarian move.
Outrage from retired generals/admirals, Congress (bipartisan hearings likely), think tanks, and allies questioning US military readiness/apolitical tradition.
Comparisons to historical purges (e.g., Stalin's or recent foreign examples), plus domestic alarms over civilian-military balance.
The Dems would for certain attempt version #24,289 of "Impeach Trump".
Stock market dips, recruitment worries, and international signals of weakness.Even smaller recent firings (e.g., Chairman + a few others in 2025) drew huge backlash, condemnation from ex-officials, and "purge" headlines. A 6/8 wipeout would be exponentially louder—potentially a constitutional crisis-level event.
Now...
Imagine that the same thing just happened in China.
No need to imagine! It just did.
China's president, Xi Jinping is the head of the China Military Commission, which has 6 others, for a total of 7. These are the equivalent of the JCS in America. Xi purged four of the seven up to last week. And last week purged that most senior of them, general Zhang Youxia, an old comrade of Xi's, and the son of Xi's own father's best mate during the Revolutionary War against the Japanese and then against the Nationalists, that they eventually drove out to Taiwan in 1949, to establish the People's Republic of China.
So this is a huge deal.
But the coverage of it is slim. Mainly because that's the way China rocks. It doesn't talk about such stuff. Neither in China, nor in the international media.
In China there's been zero coverage. In the west, also close to zero coverage. Of course, you can find discussion of it, in parts of the legacy media, and even more on social media. But you have to look for it.
One commenter summary:
It's major news in foreign policy/security circles (especially US, Asia-Pacific watchers), with dozens of articles and expert takes in the last 72 hours, but not dominating mainstream headlines like a US equivalent might—due to China's opacity and controlled domestic silence. The story underscores Xi's consolidation but highlights PLA vulnerabilities.
One big question is:
What does this mean for Taiwan? Does it make a China invasion of its "renegade province" more or less likely?
The very first legacy media analysis I saw, Sky News, reckoned that it made the likelihood MORE likely.
I'm not so sure. I reckon a China attack on Taiwan is, for now, somewhat LESS likely. Precisely because of the turmoil. You would not want to attack a well-defended island while your own military is still licking wounds inflicted by decimating its most venerable, most respected older leaders. Would you?
Of course, what do I know? Pretty much nothing. I didn't get Xi right when he came to power in 2012. I thought he'd be more of the benign collective leadership that had led to his own ascendancy. But no... that's not how it's worked out.
So I'll just put a few references below, while we keep a close eye on it, and on what's transpiring up north there in Beijing, the "Northern Capital".
Whatever is going on, if is significant and consequential.
A few quick references:
- Ex-CIA Official on What Xi Jinping's Purge of Top Chinese General Reveals, Bloomberg Television
- Standoff in Beijing? Real Talk
- China's top general investigated as Xi continues purge. ABC Australia
- Xi Jinping conducting military purge. Sky News Australia
