The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on the 17th that not a single general, with the exception of Commander-in-Chief Han Shengyan (62, Lieutenant General of the Air Force), appeared in the military parade held by China in Beijing on the 3rd to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan and the World Anti-Fascist War, suggesting a link to ongoing anti-corruption probes within the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

According to the report, while the Tiananmen parade involved the largest deployment of PLA ground, naval, air, and rocket forces, as well as advanced military hardware in Chinese history, only field-grade officers were deployed as unit commanders, departing from the precedents of 2015 and 2019.

China's 80th anniversary victory parade. Source: SCMP capture. 

The SCMP noted that more than 50 generals led the parade in the 2015 70th-anniversary event, while 89 generals led 59 units in the 2019 National Day parade.

Specifically, it was confirmed that in the 2019 parade, four full generals, two lieutenant generals, and 83 major generals participated at the head of the flag formations.

The newspaper reported, however, that no such presence was observed at the parade on the 3rd.

In China, where military personnel changes are treated as state secrets, public events often serve as an indicator of personnel shifts based on the appearance of new figures or the identity of those in charge of the parade.

Typically, announcers from state-run CCTV identify the generals participating in the parade as they pass the Tiananmen rostrum.

The SCMP stated, "As Chinese authorities do not confirm changes in PLA personnel, they have not even disclosed who is currently under investigation."

An anonymous Chinese political scholar pointed out that "the recent changes may be the result of anti-corruption efforts within the PLA."

The scholar speculated, "The anti-corruption drive currently being carried out by Chinese authorities is having a very broad impact on the PLA. It is suspected that a large number of high-ranking generals are involved, which likely led to the exclusion of generals from this parade."

He further remarked, "It would have had a negative impact on the Chinese authorities if a general participating in the parade and appearing before the public were later found to be under investigation by anti-corruption authorities."

The selection of Lieutenant General Han Shengyan as commander-in-chief was also unusual. It is customary for a full general to serve as the parade commander, and this decision defied expectations that the commander of the Central Theater Command (a full general rank), who oversees Beijing, would be appointed.

In 2019, the role was filled by General Yi Xiaoguang, then commander of the Central Theater Command, and in 2015, it was held by General Song Puxuan, commander of the Beijing Military Region, the predecessor to the Central Theater Command.

The SCMP reported that as anti-corruption efforts targeting the military have continued for three years in China, recent announcements regarding changes to representatives of the National People's Congress (NPC) have confirmed the dismissal of figures including General Wang Chunning, commander of the People's Armed Police; Lieutenant General Wang Zhibin, secretary of the Rocket Force Disciplinary Inspection Commission; Lieutenant General Zhang Lin, director of the Central Military Commission's Logistics Support Department; and Lieutenant General Gao Daguang, political commissar of the PLA Joint Logistics Support Force.

He Weidong, the third-ranking official in the military and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, who has been absent from public view since March, and Miao Hua, former director of the Central Military Commission's Political Work Department, whose recent downfall has been reported, were also said to be targets of the anti-corruption crackdown within the PLA.

Yonhap News