Xi Firing His Generals: What It Means for Taiwan and the World

Summary

A Powerful Leader Gets Even More Powerful

On January 24, 2026, China's leader Xi Jinping fired his top military general, Zhang Youxia. Zhang was Xi's best friend for decades. They grew up together—their fathers fought in the revolution together. Everyone thought Zhang was safe. No one was more important to Xi than Zhang.

But Xi fired him anyway. This was shocking news.

Since 2023, Xi has been firing military generals one by one. Over 60 generals have been fired or are under investigation. Now, only 1 experienced general is left. Xi has removed almost all of them.

The official reason is corruption. But the real reason is probably something else: Zhang may have disagreed with Xi about whether to invade Taiwan.

A Dangerous Situation

This creates 2 problems

Problem 1

Near-term relief. Right now, the military is confused. All the generals are new and inexperienced. The military needs months of training before it can invade Taiwan. With all this confusion, an invasion in 2026 or 2027 is less likely. Taiwan can probably relax a little bit.

Problem 2

Long-term danger. After a few years, Xi will have new, young generals. These generals will have one thing in common: they will never tell Xi no. They will never tell him the invasion is too risky or the military is not ready. They will just say yes to everything.

This is very dangerous. Here is why: Xi might become convinced that invading Taiwan will be easy when it actually will not be easy. He might think the military is ready when it is not. And no general will be brave enough to tell him the truth.

This is like having a king with no advisers. The king can do anything he wants. And usually, that is a bad idea.

What About Taiwan?

Taiwan is an island that China wants to control. Xi has said he wants to take it. Right now, Taiwan is probably safe from invasion. But not for long.

Taiwan's defense minister called the military changes "abnormal." But he also said the threat level is still high. The military is still practicing invasion exercises around Taiwan every month.

What About the Rest of the World?

This matters to everyone, not just Taiwan. China is a big country. If China invades Taiwan, it could start a big war in Asia. The United States would probably get involved. Many countries depend on trade with Taiwan and China. A war would hurt the world economy.

Also, we need to remember what happened in Russia. Vladimir Putin surrounded himself with people who agreed with him. He fired generals who disagreed. And then he invaded Ukraine. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers died. Many countries were affected. The world economy suffered.

Xi is doing something similar. He is making sure no one will tell him no.

Conclusion

Xi Jinping's firing of his generals shows 2 things. First, it shows he has tremendous power. He can fire anyone. Second, it shows he is creating a dangerous situation where no one can tell him the truth.

In 2026, Taiwan is probably safer. In 2027 and 2028, Taiwan might be less safe.

But the biggest problem is this: the world is less predictable now. Xi is more powerful, but less wise. A powerful leader with smart advisers is usually better than a powerful leader with only yes-men. Xi chose power over wisdom.

That choice will affect billions of people.