r/moderatepolitics • u/Soggy_Association491 • 1d ago

News Article China’s Fallen Generals Are Getting Unexpectedly Harsh Punishments

https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/05/22/china-xi-jinping-purge-generals-punishment-death-sentence/
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u/cathbadh politically homeless 1d ago

There are generally two reasons to do this:

1) concerns about Xi's position and wanting to shore up loyalty

2) Preparations for military action by getting rid of dissenters or those who won't be able to perform.

Xi has purged people for "corruption" in the past, and most estimates or an invasion of Taiwan still point to a year or more away for when they'll have the capabilities to even attempt an attack, and most of those ignore the lessons of Ukraine. So I wouldn't go to the worst possibility yet

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u/Aesma42 6h ago

The problem with your second point is that the purged military isn't exactly stronger. It will take time to replace all the leaders that have been removed.