China Removes Top Military Officers
Last week, on October Seventeenth, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense announced that nine top officers across multiple branches have been expelled from both the military and the Chinese Communist Party. This announcement was made at the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, with notable figures including He Weidong, former vice chairman of the Central Military Commission and member of the politburo, and Miao Hua, a former admiral and political commissar of the People’s Liberation Army Navy. Seven other figures were also included in the purge, as per Chinese State Media.
According to a press briefing delivered by the Ministry of National Defense, many of these arrests occurred over the course of the past year. The officers in question were ejected from both their military positions as well as ejected from the Chinese Communist Party after an investigation by the Central Military Commission (CMC). According to the press release, the nine officers were suspected of service related crimes, with the press release quoted as saying the crimes were of “extremely serious nature and egregious impact” and that the officers were detained for further prosecution. Details beyond this, however, remain unclear.
Nearly all of the officers in question held the rank of General or Admiral, with He Weidong being the highest ranking among those listed, being the vice chairman of the Central Military Commission. Another notable figure is Miao Hua, an Admiral in the People’s Liberation Army Navy and a former political commissar. The expelled officers have not only been ousted from their positions in the military and the Chinese Communist Party, but have also been turned over to the authorities for further investigation and review, according to Chinese state media. Other than He Weidong and Miao Hua, other notable figures include He Hongjun, a PLA general and former executive deputy director of CMC’s political work department as well as Yuan Huazhi, Admiral of the PLAN and former Commissar of the PLA Marine Corps. Five other higher ranking officers including Wang Xiubin, Lin Xiangyang, Qin Shutong, Wang Houbin and Wang Chunning, make up the other five officers arrested over the course of the past year.
President Xi Jinping inspects PLA Navy Honour Guard (Photo: Xinhua)
Anti-corruption campaigns have been a hallmark of Xi Jinping’s tenure as president, seeing other powerful figures in the CCP and China at large being arrested for similar charges. However, this recent round of expulsions is significant in that these are some of the highest ranking figures within the military to be expelled under Xi, raising speculation on the motivations behind these arrests. Other questions have been raised, such as the effect that such a significant change in leadership will have on China’s military at large, or to it’s current operations. The vacancies created by some of these positions, such as with the Central Military Commision, gives Xi the oppertunity to fill empty spots with his own picks for the role. However, this also