Elimination of bad influence in PLA continues
The resignation of a former deputy commander of the People’s Liberation Army’s ( PLA) Rocket Force as a lawmaker over suspected violations of law and discipline, the latest case involving a high- ranking military official, shows the military is moving to eliminate the bad influence of former disgraced Central Military Commission ( CMC) vice- chairmen, Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou, experts said.
The reason for Wang Jiurong’s resignation as deputy of National People’s Congress ( NPC) was disclosed Tuesday in the WeChat account of the official magazine of China’s top legislature, which also listed lawmakers who were either dismissed or had resigned.
Among them was Wang Xibin, former president of the National Defense University of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army ( PLA), for similar reasons.
Wang Jiurong was the third retired high- ranking military official to have resigned as a lawmaker since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China ( CPC) in 2012, following Wang Xibin and Tian Xiusi, former PLA Air Force political commissars, the Beijing Daily’s WeChat account said.
Two deputy political commissars of the Rocket Force, Yu Daqing and Zhang Dongshui, also resigned. The three had previously worked together.
More than 50 senior military “tigers” from PLA organs, including the CMC, five theater commands ( previous seven military regions), PLA academies and institutions, were brought down since 2012.
“The key to the current anti- graft campaign in the military is rooting out the pernicious influence of Guo and Xu, as the two had deeply harmed the military for a long time,” Xu Guangyu, a senior adviser to the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, told the Global Times.
Their behavior had deeply affected the “military climate,” which was reflected in huge bribes in exchange for promotions, seeking profits for others and forming cliques and factions, Xu said.
However, punishing military officials to eliminate the bad influence of Guo and Xu cannot be limited to the senior- official level, as many middle- level military officials are also involved, he said, adding that completely rooting out their influence takes a long time.