PLA-Corruption Investigations
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Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported (March 19) that 71 year old General Xu Caihou, former Vice- Chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC), was taken from his sick bed at 301 Military Hospital in Beijing on March 16, 2014, and placed under 'shuanggui' (secretive detention) on charges of corruption and his wife, daughter and personal secretary were also taken into custody the same day. Xu Caihou has bladder cancer and pleas for clemency were reportedly turned down by Xi Jinping. Rumours about Xu Caihou's fate were circulating since his absence from last year's National People's Congress, where he formally retired from the CMC. A Beijing-based retired Senior Colonel told SCMP that "When Xu was taken away for investigation, many mid-ranking cadres like me were very happy." Another Shanghai-based Senior Colonel was quoted as saying that during Xu's tenure, the buying and selling of military ranks was widespread in the PLA. "Such transactions did not only happen at the highest levels, but also expanded to the grass roots," he said. "The PLA has improved retirement and job replacement for veterans in the past decade, but it [the selling of ranks] has become a cash cow for many senior officials." He said he was told that even a farmer's child needed to pay at least 50,000 yuan to pass military recruitment tests.
The Beijing-based retired senior colonel said "A major shake-up of top-brass in the army is inevitable in the future, but it takes time. In the near future, Xi Jinping might open a gate to Xu Caihou's supporters who are willing to straighten up and pledge loyalty to the party, to keep up the army's morale."
Sun Sijing, head of the anti-graft watchdog overseeing the army's Ggeneral Logistics Department, confirmed Maj Gen Gu Junshang was being investigated and that details about the investigation would be announced soon.
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