Chinese official Miao Hua, once the head of ideology within the People's Liberation Army, is no longer a member of the Central Military Commission.
Miao Hua, a prominent military figure who had been overseeing the People's Liberation Army's ideology work, finds himself out of favor in China's military hierarchy. This high-profile military corruption scandal unfolded two months after the 69-year-old general was ousted from the National People's Congress, the country's top legislative body.
The removal of Miao, who was the youngest general in China's military apparatus, was part of a significant wave of anti-corruption measures within China's military forces. This ongoing purge, led by President Xi Jinping, has been targeting the military elite, resulting in the ousting of over a dozen senior officials over the past few years.
Other notable figures swept up in this purge include defense ministers Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe, the Navy Chief Li Hanjun, and a top nuclear scientist, Liu Shipeng. The focus of this campaign has been on tackling corruption in military procurement, an area susceptible to graft due to large defense contracts and complex supply chains. Reports suggest that corruption has hampered critical military programs, affecting missile and nuclear capabilities managed by the PLA Rocket Force[3].
Miao's photo was removed from the Chinese defense ministry's leadership page at the end of May[2], signaling his removal from the Central Military Commission (CMC) in late June 2025. This campaign extends beyond personnel changes, unveiling chronic corruption and inefficiencies within China's defense procurement networks and state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Officials and executives have been accused of bribery, embezzlement, and mismanagement, impacting strategic sectors such as aerospace, cybersecurity, and logistics[4].
This has resulted in disruptions in military-civil fusion initiatives, with thousands of private firms providing defense-related components now under increased scrutiny. Notable procurement failures, like missiles improperly filled or incompatible parts supplied by key SOEs, have highlighted the extent of corruption and its operational fallout[4].
In essence, Miao Hua's exclusion from the Central Military Commission underscores the ongoing, intensive anti-corruption campaign within China's armed forces. The purge aims to eradicate corrupt practices within the PLA's leadership and procurement systems, strengthening the integrity and modernization of China's military forces, poised for strategic objectives set for the late 2020s[1][2][3][4][5].
The ongoing campaign led by President Xi Jinping has set its sights on eradicating corruption within the People's Liberation Army (PLA), targeting the military elite, as evident in the ousting of high-ranking individuals like Miao Hua, Defense Ministers Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe, Navy Chief Li Hanjun, and top nuclear scientist Liu Shipeng. This purge, extending beyond personnel changes, aims to reform defense procurement networks and state-owned enterprises (SOEs), addressing corruption in policy-and-legislation, politics, and general-news concerning military procurement, avertively impacting strategic sectors such as aerospace, cybersecurity, and logistics.
