Proof that the purges in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have not only not ended but are intensifying, China announced, on Thursday, November 28, the suspension of one of the country’s highest military officers, under the coup of an investigation for “serious violations.” of discipline”, that is, of corruption. Admiral Miao Hua, one of the five members of the Central Military Commission (not including its chairman, Xi Jinping himself), was director of political work. In this capacity, he had responsibility for personnel, loyalty, and ideological rectitude within the world’s largest military reporting directly to the Communist Party.
His fall comes eighteen months after the launch of a disciplinary operation during which more than a dozen senior officials and managers of public groups in the defense sector were arrested, many of whom are linked to the strategic force, responsible for missiles and nuclear deterrence.
Expelled from the Communist Party
this procedure In particular, they dismissed a Defense Minister, Li Shangfu, invisible since August 2023 and then dismissed in October 2023, just seven months after his appointment, as well as his predecessor, Wei Fenghe. The latter had been the commander of the missile force from 2012 to 2017, Li Shangfu had overseen PLA purchases from 2017 to 2022. Both were expelled from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) this summer.
The CCP disciplinary commission also announced on Wednesday the placing under investigation of the head of the Pudong area, the huge eastern half of the city of Shanghai, where the financial district is located. However, Zhu Zhisong, before assuming these responsibilities in China’s largest city, had spent two decades in the missile and aerospace sector, at the center of research.
On Thursday, Wu Qian, the same Defense Ministry spokesman who announced the dismissal of Admiral Miao, instead vehemently denied the fall of Dong Jun, current Defense Minister after less than a year in office, mentioned on Wednesday. for him Financial times. “Pure manufacturing”the spokesperson ruled out. But when a reporter asked him who the current defense minister was, Wu replied: “Why are you asking me this question that makes no sense? I have said it many times, Minister Dong Jun. »
Dismantle certain factions
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