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发帖数: 145 | 1 Beijing (CNN) -- Xu Caihou, a retired PLA general and former vice-chairman
of the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC), was taken from his sick
bed at 301 Military Hospital in Beijing on Saturday by dozens of armed
policemen, the South China Morning Post reported, quoting unidentified
sources.
Xu was detained the same day President Xi Jinping chaired a steering group
tasked with reforming the military, the Post said.
If confirmed, Xu would become the highest-ranking military officer to be
detained on suspicion of corruption.
Xu's critics claim that during his tenure, the buying and selling of
military ranks was widespread in the defense establishment.
"I was told by an ex-PLA man I met on the train travelling to Guangzhou that
he quit the military because so many people were buying positions and he
did not want to play that game," said David Zweig, professor at Hong Kong
University of Science and Technology.
I was told by an ex-PLA man... that he quit the military because so many
people were buying positions
David Zweig, professor at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
"Telling me, a foreign professor, such dirt suggests that it is widespread
and the anger that exists about this is also widespread."
Bribery scandal
Xu's detention may be connected with the corruption probe of Gu Junshan, the
army's former deputy logistics chief and one of Xu's closest subordinates.
Gu, who was in charge of the military's massive procurement and property
portfolio, reportedly received bribes in cash and gifts. He has been under
investigation since early 2012.
Xu, 71, was promoted to the CMC in 1999 and became its vice-chairman in 2004
. He retired in March last year.
He has not been seen in public for several months until January 20, when the
Chinese media showed him with President Xi greeting a group of retired
military officials on the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year.
The bespectacled general appeared frail, observers noted. He is said to be
terminally ill with bladder cancer, prompting speculation that Xu may have
been spared a corruption probe and prosecution due to his condition.
His sympathizers had been pushing for leniency, sources said, arguing that
the terminal cancer was a fate equal to the death penalty.
But the prospect of treating Xu leniently has caused discontent among
reformists in the military who say letting Xu off the hook will be following
double standards.
That is not the signal Xi Jinping wants to send.
Every Communist Party official should keep in mind that all dirty hands will
be caught
Chinese President Xi Jinping
Mosquitoes and tigers
Xi, who is also chairman of the CMC, has vowed to clean up the tarnished
image of Communist Party and the People's Liberation Army.
He has pushed big anti-graft campaigns, pledging to target not just "
mosquitoes" (minor officials) but also "tigers" (top officials).
It's a daunting task, given the common perception among Chinese that
corruption is endemic.
On the most recent Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index,
China was ranked 80th, tied with Greece and one notch above Swaziland, among
the 177 countries and regions surveyed.
The index ranks countries and territories based on how corrupt their public
sector is perceived to be.
China's image has gotten worse. On the 2004 index, China was ranked 71st,
lumped with Saudi Arabia and Syria.
Xi has warned officials that no one will be spared. "Every Communist Party
official should keep in mind that all dirty hands will be caught," he told a
meeting of the party body tasked with curbing corruption last January. "
Senior officials should hold Party disciplines in awe and stop taking
chances."
So far, Xi has snared a few big tigers.
Powerful scalps
Zhou Qiang, China's top law enforcer as chief of the Supreme People's Court,
said in his annual report to China's legislature last month that the courts
in 2013 have tried and convicted 29,000 cases of embezzlement, bribery and
dereliction of duty.
More than 20 minister-level officials have been "taken down" since the major
Communist Party meeting last November, various Chinese media reported.
Self-criticism should be intensified... adding a bit of chili pepper to make
every Party official blush and sweat a little
Chinese President Xi Jinping
The list includes a former party official of Sichuan Province, the former
mayor of Nanjing, and the former minister of the influential State-owned
Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.
Political analysts wonder if more, bigger tigers could fall prey.
Speculation has focused on the fate of Zhou Yongkang, 71, a former member of
the Politburo Standing Committee, China's top decision-making body, until
he retired in 2012.
Zhou had also served as the powerful czar of China's security and police
institutions, and before that was the overseer of China's lucrative
petroleum industry.
Unwritten rule
Rumors surrounding Zhou's "imminent" downfall have been circulating on China
's social media for two years. They have gained currency in recent months as
high-profile corruption probes have led to the detention of senior
officials linked to him throughout his career.
An unwritten rule favors Zhou. No member of the Communist Party's standing
committee, past or present, has been prosecuted for graft.
But apparently Xi Jinping is far from finished with his clean up drive.
Several days ago, he issued a call to add "chili pepper" to the anti-graft
campaign, as the hunt for corrupt officials heats up.
"The work of criticism and self-criticism should be intensified," he said
when addressing a group of grassroots officials in Lankao County in central
Henan Province. "Adding a bit of chili pepper to make every Party official
blush and sweat a little." |
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