No confirmation that any current Chinese vice chair died; purges under Xi are verified

Reuters and AP do not report that any current Central Military Commission vice chair was “found dead at home” or died by suicide, despite online posts spreading that claim. What is verified by multiple outlets is that Gen. Zhang Youxia, who served as a CMC vice chairman and was one of the most senior military leaders in China, has been removed and placed under investigation for discipline violations and corruption, reflecting a sweeping purge of top PLA leadership under Xi’s anti‑corruption campaign. People are fixating on unverified death rumors because it sounds dramatic, but the deeper issue is that Xi has hollowed out experienced military leadership and centralized control under himself, weakening internal checks and making China’s strategic decision‑making less transparent and more unpredictable.

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/fall-top-chinese-general-stirs-us-uncertainty-about-chinas-military-2026-01-28/