Mr. Xi demanded the eradication of corruption in the military

“There is no place for corruption to hide in the military. The fight against corruption in the forces must continue,” President Xi Jinping said today, during a session with military and armed police delegates at the 4th session of the 14th National People’s Congress, China’s parliament.

Mr. Xi emphasized the need to “maximize the unique strengths of strengthening political loyalty” of the Chinese military, and called for coordinated efforts to promote the modernization of China’s defense and armed forces in a stable and sustainable manner.

The People’s Political Consultative Conference (Chinh Hiep), China’s leading political advisory body, on March 2 voted to dismiss the delegate status of three former military generals including Han Weiguo, Liu Lei and Gao Xin.

Senior General Han Weiguo was once the commander of the Chinese army. Generals Liu Lei and Cao Tan also held high positions in the military. Three people were absent at the 14th meeting of Chinh Hiep at the end of last year.

Hiep himself also voted to dismiss two more members and strip 10 of their delegate status. On February 26, the Chinese National Assembly dismissed 19 deputies, including 9 military officials, but did not give a reason.

China has launched an anti-corruption campaign at many levels in recent years, of which the military is one of the focuses.

China’s Ministry of National Defense announced at the end of January that it was investigating Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission Truong You Hiep and Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff Liu Zhenli, for “serious violations of discipline and law”, a phrase often used to refer to corruption.

Beijing did not release details of the charges against Mr. Zhang and Mr. Liu. PLA Dailythe Chinese military’s mouthpiece, has published many editorials accusing the two of “seriously trampling and weakening the system of highest responsibility belonging to the Chairman of the Central Military Commission”.