New Delhi: Independent journalist Zhao Lanjian, who first reported the detention of several top Chinese generals months before Beijing’s official confirmation, is one of the few exile reporters whose early disclosures on China’s military power structure have repeatedly matched later official announcements.

A former citizen-journalist from mainland China now based in the United States, Zhao is regarded as an independent source on elite politics within the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

His reports — from the purges in Rocket Force to the fall of Defence Minister Li Shangfu — have often preceded state-media confirmation by months.

In December 2023, Zhao coined the term “Great Purge” on social media to describe the arrest of Li Shangfu and the sweeping cleanup within China’s military-poli

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