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China Expels Nine Senior PLA Officers, Including CMC Vice Chair He Weidong

The Defence Ministry cited exceptionally large duty-related crimes, with cases to be sent to military prosecutors before the Fourth Plenum.

Overview

  • The purge names He Weidong and eight other senior figures, including Miao Hua, He Hongjun, Wang Xiubin, Lin Xiangyang, Qin Shutong, Yuan Huazhi, Wang Houbin and Wang Chunning.
  • Officials are accused of seriously violating party discipline and suspected of grave duty-related crimes involving particularly large sums, the ministry said.
  • The Communist Party decided to strip the nine of party and military status and transfer suspected criminal matters to military procuratorial authorities for further review.
  • He Weidong had not appeared in public since March; his removal makes him the first sitting CMC member ousted in decades and the only current Politburo member named.
  • The announcement comes days before the Oct. 20–23 Fourth Plenum, where personnel decisions are typically formalised after such disciplinary actions.