Aug 30, 2026 · 30 min · 12 segments
Xi Jinping is known to be a ruthless leader. In the last five years alone, China’s richest man, Jack Ma, China’s defence minister and the country’s foreign minister have all abruptly disappeared…
Joseph TarigianGuest
Ed GoldringGuestVictor ShiGuest
Olivia ChungGuest
Jun Koga SudduthGuest
Drew ThompsonGuestChina has purged the very top man within its military, with the exception of Xi Jinping himself.
Even
He'd been promoted under Xi and kept his post long after the party's normally strict rules would have forced him to retire.
Every morning, right after news of Zhang's detention surfaced, I'd check my phone, my email and social media, and there was almost no concrete information to explain why.
And that's not just to keep the foreigners guessing, it's to keep the rest of the political system in line.
He was planning a coup, leaking nuclear secrets to the U.S. that he'd just got too big for his boots.
Zhang was in charge of one of the world's biggest militaries, which many believed could be preparing to invade neighboring Taiwan.
China has purged the very top man within its military, with the exception of Xi Jinping himself.
Even
He'd been promoted under Xi and kept his post long after the party's normally strict rules would have forced him to retire.
Every morning, right after news of Zhang's detention surfaced, I'd check my phone, my email and social media, and there was almost no concrete information to explain why.
And that's not just to keep the foreigners guessing, it's to keep the rest of the political system in line.
He was planning a coup, leaking nuclear secrets to the U.S. that he'd just got too big for his boots.
Zhang was in charge of one of the world's biggest militaries, which many believed could be preparing to invade neighboring Taiwan.
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