Several Asian news sources are reporting possible profound changes in the top leadership of the Chinese armed forces.

The Taipei Times reports from Taiwan that Xi undertook a tour of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command Xi’s visit earlier this month sought to strengthen the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) direct control over the PLA. The Eastern Theater Command is important as it has to deal with the armed forces of Taiwan, Japan, and the United States, where Beijing does not rule out an attack on Taiwan in an attempt to facilitate “reunification” with the island nation across the Taiwan Strait.

Chinese journalist Jennifer Zeng, alluded in a series of tweets and on her video channel that senior officers of the EPL’s missile and space forces are in trouble over allegations of corruption, resulting in the demoralization of the forces. She linked this to Xi’s growing insecurity and perceived threats from the PLA after the failed coup in Moscow. Jennifer says the purge among senior officers will likely impact Xi’s plans for a possible invasion of Taiwan.

China’s missile forces are critical to Beijing’s nuclear deterrent, and any rumblings within them would obviously be of grave national and international concern.

Dr. Sriparna Pathak, an associate professor of China studies and director of the Center for Northeast Asian Studies at OP Jindal Global University, writes that Wu Guoua, the deputy commander of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF), would die by suicide on June 6, 2023. The death, which occurred on the same day that President Xi was touring the eastern theater command, was attributed to brain hemorrhage, but other sources speak of suicide by hanging.

However, it is not just Wu Guoua. There is also talk of the sudden but not equally tragic demise of the missile force commander himself, Li Yuchao. In this case, the cause of the sudden departure would be the fact that his son is studying in the U.S., with the possibility of contact with U.S. agents.

An entire group of senior officers is reportedly facing a purge as many have disappeared or have not been seen in public. Sources say the disappearances have been linked to investigations and elimination of corruption, but are actually rooted in fears of a revolt within the missile force. There is also talk of

In addition to the problems with the missile force, there has been ample news about China’s new Foreign Minister Qin Gang, which may signal further dissonance in the Chinese establishment. Qin missed last week’s ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting 2023, which was attended by former Foreign Minister Wang Yi, now director of the Office of the CPC Foreign Affairs Commission.

Analysts say so far there has been no convincing response from the Chinese establishment to explain Foreign Minister Qin’s public absence since June 25.

Rumors say Qin has been punished because of his alleged affair with Phoenix TV personality Fu Xiaotian, with whom he apparently has a child. In addition, Fu has not been heard from since April 10, after she boarded a Gulfstream Jet in Los Angeles that was apparently flying to Beijing.

There is also a theory that Qin had a health problem, which could be Covid, a heart attack or a stroke. But if so, his recovery photos would have appeared officially.

So something has moved in China too, politically, although it is not clear what. The country externally always looks monolithic, but, n reality, something is moving deep there, too.