What’s new: Nine ex-senior military officials removed from the National People’s Congress (NPC) in December were ousted for suspected “serious violations of discipline and law,” according to an official announcement.
The legislature used the phrase, typically employed by Communist Party graft-busters as a euphemism for corruption, for all nine officers in a NPC Standing Committee communique published in January.
The clarification came after the NPC announced their removal without giving a reason following a standing committee meeting in December.
The communique also revealed the dates that the nine senior staff, including three generals, had fallen under suspicion, which ranged from July to December 2023.
The background: The officials include three from the Central Military Commission (CMC), the country’s top military decision-making body, four from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force, and one each from the PLA Air Force and PLA Navy.
Since December, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the country’s top political advisory body, has also revoked the membership of four arms and aerospace officials and executives — three announced in late December and one last week.
In October 2023, then-Defense Minister Li Shangfu had his title revoked. Li previously served as head of the CMC’s equipment development department from 2017 to 2022 and was the commander of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center for a decade.
Contact reporter Kelly Wang (jingzhewang@caixin.com) and editor Jonathan Breen (jonathanbreen@caixin.com)
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