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... The Chinese Defense Ministry said in a statement Saturday that Gen. Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission which controls the armed forces, was under investigation and accused of serious "violations of discipline and law."

Liu Zhenli, another People's Liberation Army general and a lower member of the commission who was in charge of the Joint Staff Department, was also put under investigation, the ministry said.

The statement gave no details about the allegations against them or the charges they were facing. But an editorial Sunday in the Liberation Army Daily newspaper, the mouthpiece of the country's armed forces, suggested that Zhang, 75, was accused of corruption and possibly disloyalty to Xi. ...

"This is a reminder coming directly from President Xi Jinping, that political loyalty stands well before combat readiness," he told NBC News in a telephone interview Monday. "Political disloyalty is a cardinal sin inside the party. And the message is clear: it's a political accusation," he said. "I think the message is extremely clear, no one is safe."

Xi could have let Zhang, 75, retire to save face, he said, adding that this was "very important in China." ...

Of the six generals Xi appointed to the commission in 2022, only one is left, allowing the president to consolidate power, but also heightening the risk of a military miscalculation when it comes to Taiwan, according Steve Tsang, the director of the China Institute at SOAS University of London.

"Removing generals like Zhang means that there will not be any general who would dare to advise Xi against a military adventure when the time comes, and this increases the risk of a miscalculation," he said in an email Monday. ...