The downfall of China’s top general, second in command and once a close ally of President Xi Jinping, has thrown the leadership of the country’s military into turmoil and raised questions about Taiwan’s future. The Chinese Defense Ministry said in a statement Saturday that Gen. Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, which controls the armed forces, was under investigation and accused of serious “violations of discipline and law.” Liu Zhenli, another People’s Liberation Army general and a lower member of the commission who was in charge of the Joint Staff Department, was also put under investigation, the ministry said. The statement gave no details about the allegations or the charges they faced. An editorial Sunday in the Liberation Army Daily newspaper, the mouthpiece of the country’s armed forces, suggested that Zhang, 75, was accused of corruption and possibly disloyalty to Xi.

Full report : Purge of top Chinese general throws military into turmoil, raises questions about Taiwan.