How Xi’s Purge Is Pushing China Toward Warlordism. Xi Started a Cultural Revolution inside PLA — And Can’t End It. China Can’t Invade Taiwan Anymore.
What happens when a leader destroys the chain of command he depends on?
Xi Jinping’s arrest of Zhang Youxia wasn’t just a purge — it shattered the PLA’s command structure. In this video, I explain why taking down China’s top active-duty general risks pushing the military toward fragmentation and modern warlordism, not greater control.
I break down the historical parallels with Lin Biao and the Cultural Revolution, why the Central Military Commission is now effectively paralyzed, and why this makes a Taiwan war far less likely — while increasing internal instability.