TRANSCRIPT
Just as China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang was removed from office after disappearing for a month, there are now talks of a purge in the Chinese military.
So who are we talking about?
On Monday, Xi Jinping surprised everybody by announcing that two lieutenant generals were promoted to full generals, but also that they were now the two men in charge of the Strategic Rocket Force, or SRF.
However, we do not know what happened to their predecessors.
Wang Houbin, from the navy, is now the head of the SRF, and Xu Xisheng, of the air force, is now its political commissar, but no there's been no word about the two men they are replacing.
The rest are rumours.
But Drew Thompson, a Research Fellow at Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, told SBS News he tries to see clear.
"Rumours seems to have a fairly consistent track record of turning out to be true. We've recently seen the removal of the foreign minister after a week of rumours. So the rumours seem to be bearing out. There is certainly a pattern, and perhaps we can say: where there is smoke, there may be fire."
The story goes that the two previous leaders of the rocket force are under investigation for corruption, a favourite method of Xi Jinping to get rid of officials.
Kuo Yu-jen, a professor at Taiwan's National Sun Yat-sen University, also tries to see clear in the situation, and notes the importance of the SRF.
"This rocket force, it carries immense strategic deterrence, especially against the United States. And the Chinese rocket force is actually in control of China's nuclear arsenal."
The two top officials are probably not the only ones being removed.
Arthur Ding, Professor Emeritus at National Chengchi University in Taipei, also noted that the two men were not replaced by officers from the rocket force itself.
"In total about 10 officers, top-rank officers are investigated. So we think that it is a very serious problem. Because usually they promote someone from the next lower level, but this time they choose someone from the navy and from the air force."
Bringing in replacement from other arms is unusual, and shows that what matters now is loyalty rather than expertise.
Drew Thompson again:
"I think Xi Jinping is acutely aware of the myriad risks. And he has to balance those. But I think Xi Jinping's priority is clear, he needs to strengthen the Party, he has to ensure social stability, and he has to ensure the Communist Party's loyalty and focus on the mission of keeping the Party in power."
He further commented that such displays of opacity often have an adverse effect on businesses.
Professor Ding also noted the risk this purge poses to Xi Jinping within the Chinese state apparatus.
"Why is it awkward? Because they were all promoted by Xi Jinping. This becomes quite a loss of face for Xi Jinping. This really implies that Xi Jinping does not trust the PLA rocket force. So we all believe this is a serious problem."
So if purging these officials carries risks for Xi Jinping, why did he do it anyway?
Professor Kuo says the answer may lie with the US Department of Defence, or U-S-D-O-D, which created quite a stir in China by releasing a particular report.
"USDOD released a special report on China's rocket force, strategic rocket force, deployment, equipment, and their strategic location, strategic manipulation... That particular report shocked the top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, especially Xi Jinping himself."
The release of this report may also have put the former Foreign Minister Qin Gang into trouble.
And the discovery that the United States knew so much about the Chinese Rocket Force may have been so shocking that whatever loss of face or display of opacity mattered little in comparison.
Professor Kuo explains.
"Xi Jinping has no other choice but to purge. The military intelligence leak is just too serious. It is not just China losing this strategic bargaining chip. It is also a very serious challenge to Xi Jinping's standing."
So the Chinese Rocket Force may be going through a purge of its leadership because the United States has learned too much about how it works, and some people need to pay for it.
And it carries implications in terms of Xi Jinping's position within the Party-State.
But does it change anything to the military situation around China?
Professor Kuo does not think so.
“Their first assignment will be further investigation and further purge military officials at the rocket force. Chinese air force and Chinese navy will carry out their mission as usual as we've been witnessing in the past years.”
