China removes ex-top general Zhang from Central Military Commission: State media

JUST IN: China removes former top general Zhang Youxia from the Central Military Commission over suspected 'serious violations of discipline and law,' state media reports.

China just purged Zhang Youxia, the man who sat at the very top of its military. State media says he's been removed from the Central Military Commission over suspected serious violations of discipline and law. That's the standard phrasing Beijing uses when a corruption case is coming.

This is him, and understand the rank we're talking about. Zhang was a vice chairman of the commission, second only to Xi Jinping himself in the chain of command, and long considered one of Xi's most trusted allies. When a man that close to the top gets the discipline treatment, it's not routine housekeeping.

And he's not the first. The purge inside the People's Liberation Army has already swallowed defence ministers and senior generals over the past two years. Each time, the message from Xi is the same. Nobody in uniform is untouchable.

The hardest fact tonight is this. The general who helped Xi run the world's largest military is now the one being investigated by it.

This is Sara White, reporting for HIT.