y*****n
发帖数: 145 | 1 A retired top PLA general has been detained in a corruption investigation,
according to sources close to the matter, ending months of speculation about
his fate and potentially triggering a major shake-up of the military top
brass.
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
Saturday by dozens of armed policemen. His wife, daughter and personal
secretary were taken into custody on the same day, sources told the Post.
He was detained on the same day as President Xi Jinping chaired the first
meeting of a steering group that will tackle reform in the military.
Xu, 71, has been placed under shuanggui - a Communist Party disciplinary
measure used to interrogate party members suspected of corruption - in a
secretive detention centre.
If the party disciplinary agency gathers ample evidence against him and the
case goes to court, Xu would become the highest-ranking military officer to
go on trial for corruption. Analysts said the trial would be held in a
military court, which means the verdict would not be publicly announced
Xu was promoted to the CMC in 1999 and became its vice-chairman in 2004.
Rumours about his fate were fuelled when he was absent from last year's
National People's Congress, where he formally retired from the CMC. Over the
past decade, Xu wielded huge influence over the world's largest military as
former president Hu Jintao, the nominal commander-in-chief, was known for
his weak control of the army.
Xu's detention means the top leadership will soon announce the results of
the graft inquiry into the army's former deputy logistics chief, Gu Junshan.
Gu, one of Xu's closest subordinates, has been under shuanggui since early
2012.
The disciplinary decision against Xu, who has bladder cancer, was only made
very recently by the top leadership after he was believed to have been let
off the hook because of his terminal illness. His supporters in the army had
been pushing for leniency, arguing that the diagnosis of terminal cancer
early last year was a fate equal to the death penalty.
They suggested the precedent of the late vice-premier Huang Ju, who was
spared a corruption probe due to his pancreatic cancer even though he was
involved in various corruption cases, could also be applied to Xu.
But the prospect of a lack of action against Xu caused widespread anger
among reformists in the military, who accused the general of rampant
corruption while in power.
"When Xu was taken away for investigation, many mid-ranking cadres like me
were very happy," a Beijing-based retired senior colonel told the Post.
"We believed at the time that Xu would be 'the biggest tiger' that would be
caught in the anti-graft campaign. We were very disappointed to learn that
Xu was exempt [from prosecution] because of his illness. There is much
concrete evidence to prove Xu's involvement in corruption.
"Many military officials, especially at the middle-level, couldn't accept Xu
's immunity from a graft probe."
The ambiguity surrounding Xu has caused the case of Gu, one of his closest
allies, to drag on for nearly two years without trial.
A source told the Post that Gu had shared a substantial part of his bribes
with Xu. He cited the example of a 20 million yuan(HK$25.3 million) debit
card that Gu gave to Xu's daughter as a wedding gift several years ago.
Another Shanghai-based senior colonel said that during Xu's tenure, the
buying and selling of military ranks was widespread in the PLA, with Gu
himself being promoted under the practice.
"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 retired senior colonel said it was routine during Xu's tenure for
military officials to pay if they wanted to climb the career ladder. "The
more you could pay, the higher you could climb," he added.
The Beijing-based retired senior colonel said Xi Jinping, who is also
chairman of the CMC, vowed to improve the PLA's public image after realising
the alleged extent of the buying and selling of military ranks by Xu and
his allies.
"It will be a tough job for Xi to deal with the corruption battle as Xu was
in charge of high-level personnel arrangements from 2004 to 2013, with
almost all the army's senior officials being promoted by him," he 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 might open a gate to Xu's supporters
who are willing to straighten up and pledge loyalty to the party, to keep up
the army's morale."
Xi has launched big anti-graft campaigns and told senior officials to take
part in self-examination and self-discipline meetings.
Xu made his last public appearance on January 20 in Beijing at a Lunar New
Year gala performance for retired military officials. During the interval,
Xu approached Xi several times to speak but was ignored, said sources who
were there.
Gu, who was in charge of the military's extensive property portfolio,
reportedly received hundreds of millions of yuan in cash and gifts.
Sun Sijing, head of the anti-graft watchdog overseeing the army's general
logistics department, confirmed Gu was being investigated and that details
about the investigation would be announced soon. | S****t
发帖数: 2183 | 2 这些乌龟王八是不是都是江core提拔上去的？
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【在 y*****n 的大作中提到】
: A retired top PLA general has been detained in a corruption investigation,
: according to sources close to the matter, ending months of speculation about
: his fate and potentially triggering a major shake-up of the military top
: brass.
: 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
: Saturday by dozens of armed policemen. His wife, daughter and personal
: secretary were taken into custody on the same day, sources told the Post.
: He was detained on the same day as President Xi Jinping chaired the first
: meeting of a steering group that will tackle reform in the military.
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