China Expels Nine Top Generals, Including CMC Vice Chairman, in Anti-Graft Drive

The cases shift from party discipline to the military procuratorate for review pending Central Committee ratification at the Fourth Plenum.

Overview

China’s defense ministry named CMC Vice Chairman He Weidong and eight other senior officers and announced their expulsion from the Communist Party for disciplinary violations and alleged duty-related crimes.
The nine include former top leaders of the Political Work Department, Rocket Force, Eastern Theater Command, Navy, Ground Force, Joint Operations Command Center, and the People’s Armed Police.
Investigators said the violations involved huge sums and described the conduct as of an “extremely serious nature and egregious impact,” according to the official statement.
The Central Military Commission had already stripped all nine of their military status, and their suspected criminal matters have been transferred to military procuratorial authorities.
Eight of the officers were Central Committee members whose expulsions are to be ratified at the ongoing Fourth Plenum, while outside analyses note they rose under Xi Jinping and some previously served in his former 31st Group Army power base.