Recent high-level purges in China's People's Liberation Army, including the expulsion of Central Military Commission figures such as Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli for alleged corruption, factionalism, and disloyalty, have prompted online rumors of internal power struggles ahead of the October 2026 party plenum. These moves, framed officially as discipline enforcement, coincide with ongoing leadership consolidation under Xi Jinping and debates over Taiwan policy timelines. No coordinated military or security force action to seize government control has been confirmed by credible reporting through mid-October 2026, keeping implied probabilities for a qualifying coup attempt low. Scheduled events like the plenum and any diplomatic engagements could influence elite dynamics, though China's centralized command structure and information controls limit rapid shifts in trader assessments.