Friday, China declared extensive corruption probes into nine top military officials, including its second-ranking general, which is being viewed as a big step up in President Xi Jinping’s anti-graft campaign. The officials have been driven out of the military, and the majority of them have also been driven out of the Communist Party.
The most noticeable name on the list is He Weidong, who is the vice chairman of such a powerful institution as the Central Military Commission (CMC). An online statement by defence ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang confirmed that He and the rest were found guilty of having grossly violated party discipline. So far, there had been no official inquiry into him, though rumours had grown louder since he had not been seen in public since March.
There is also Miao Hua, who was the former head of the political work department in the military. His demotion from the post had been covered in state media earlier in June, but the particulars of disciplinary action were not released until now.
Zhang claims that eight of the nine officials joined the Central Committee of the Communist Party at one time and are currently expelled from the party. Their overthrow highlights the leadership’s purpose in putting a strong message across the ranks of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
The ruthless treatment meted out to He Weidong, Miao Hua and others once again shows the determination of the Party Central Committee and CMC to continue with the fight against corruption, Zhang said in the statement.
With a presidency of more than ten years, China President Xi has been addressing the issue of corruption at the core of his elected government, terming it as the biggest adversary to the existence of the Communist Party. He has consistently said that the war against graft has been serious and complicated. According to the advocates of the campaign, the move enhances transparency and discipline, but opponents consider that it is also a way of Xi getting a way to counter his internal opponents.
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