China removes two top military officials from the State Central Military Commission | Ukraine news
A sudden reshuffle leaves Beijing’s top military body with an unusually thin leadership, raising fresh questions about Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign.
China has removed two high-ranking military figures – Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli – from the State Central Military Commission. The state-run Xinhua news agency reported this on August 28. The decision followed investigations into alleged serious violations of discipline and the law.
As reported by reuters.com.
After Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli were removed, only two serving members remained on the former seven-member commission, including Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Zhang Youxia was a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission and a member of China’s elite Politburo. Liu Zhenli was a member of the commission and headed the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission.
Personnel changes amid an anti-corruption campaign
The military has become one of the main targets of the sweeping anti-corruption campaign launched by Xi Jinping in 2012.
China has parallel party and state Central Military Commissions, although in practice they operate as a single body. The decision by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress concerns Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli’s positions specifically on the state commission.
At the same time, no official or public decision has been announced to remove them from their positions on the Central Military Commission of China’s ruling Communist Party.
Twelve deputies lose their mandates
The names of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli were removed from the updated list of deputies published by China’s parliament on August 28. This indicates that they have officially lost their parliamentary mandates. Ten other lawmakers received the same status.
They include Lieutenant General Zhong Shaojun, former director of the General Office of the Central Military Commission, and General Ju Qiansheng, who previously commanded the Strategic Support Force of China’s armed forces.
The list also included Gao Shiweng, the former mayor of Nanchang in southern China. He previously worked for the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
The removal of two key military officials and the stripping of ten other lawmakers of their parliamentary mandates indicate that sweeping personnel investigations are continuing in China’s military and state institutions.