China’s top political advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), has voted to remove three generals, state media said, a week after nine military officials were ousted from the National People’s Congress (NPC).
The move comes as Beijing escalates a sweeping purge of military officials, days before thousands of delegates meet for the annual Two Sessions political conclave today.
Simultaneous gatherings of the the NPC and the CPPCC are to be held over the course of a week.
Photo: Reuters
The CPPCC voted at a Standing Committee meeting to remove retired military generals Han Weiguo (韓衛國), Liu Lei (劉雷) and Gao Jin (高津), Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.
It also voted to remove two other members, while 10 more were officially ousted.
The move comes after the NPC ousted 19 of its delegates on Thursday last week, including nine military officials.
The reason for the removals was not specified.
Wang Xiangxi (王祥喜) was also removed as minister of emergency management that same day after a probe by the nation’s anti-corruption watchdog, while Liu Shaoyun (劉少雲) was removed from his position as head of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s military court.
Since Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) came to power more than a decade ago, he has launched a massive drive to root out graft at all levels of the Chinese Communist Party and state, with the drive now targeting the military.
Xi hailed the military’s “fight against corruption” last month in a rare acknowledgement of graft, weeks after Beijing escalated a sweeping purge by probing its top general.
The Chinese Ministry of National Defense in January said that it was investigating Zhang Youxia (張又俠), a vice chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission, as well as Liu Zhenli (劉振立), chief of staff of the commission’s joint staff department, which oversees combat planning.
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