In Xi Jinping’s Purge of the Military, a Search for Absolute Loyalty

By reaching back to Maoist tactics of “rectification,” the Chinese leader is signaling that control over the gun requires a state of perpetual cleansing.President Xi Jinping of China at a ceremony with members of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army last year. Over the past two years, Mr. Xi has removed five of the six generals in China’s top military body.