Zhongnanhai, the Communist Party's political center, remains a black box after the ousting of China's most senior general.

President Xi Jinping’s move to probe his top general and one-time ally Zhang Youxia is the most stunning development yet in China’s biggest military purge in roughly half a century. It also has implications for Taiwan,

A combat veteran, Zhang Youxia was once seen as the most trusted man in Xi Jinping’s military. Now he has been accused of disloyalty to Mr. Xi.

Gen. Zhang Youxia no longer is China's top military general after being ousted amid an investigation into alleged legal and disciplinary violations.

China’s defence ministry has launched an investigation into its most senior general, sparking speculation about another purge. General Zhang Youxia was also thought to be a close ally of President Xi Jinping. Eight top generals were expelled from the ruling Communist Party on corruption charges in October last year.

The removal of Zhang and Liu reduces the CMC to its smallest size in history, leaving as its only members Xi, who heads the body, and Zhang Shengmin, a political commissar who leads the military’s anti-corruption watchdog and was promoted to CMC vice-chair in October.

In another twist, the Wall Street Journal reported that Zhang was accused of leaking information about the country’s nuclear-weapons program to the US, as well as accepting bribes for key promotions, including for the post of defense minister and key positions in the military procurement system.

Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, two of the most powerful military leaders in China, are now officially in custody. Rumors have buzzed in the Chinese diaspora for days, but the speed still comes as a shock; usually there’s a far longer gap between the detention of leaders and the official announcement of their fate.