China removes three retired generals from national advisory body

China has removed three retired military generals, including a former commander of the People’s Liberation Army ground force, from a top political advisory body just days before its largest annual political gathering.

The advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) voted to remove Han Weiguo, Gao Jin and Liu Lei, state media said on Monday.

Authorities gave no explanation for the ousters but they come after purges of military top brass have picked up pace in recent weeks.

China’s leader Xi Jinping has regularly launched anti-corruption campaigns in since coming to power in 2012, but critics say it is a tool for removing political rivals.

Some 3,000 delegates from the CPPCC, an advisory body with no legislative power – and China’s rubber-stamp legislature the National People’s Congress – will gather in Beijing this week for the annual Two Sessions. The meetings begin tomorrow and will run for about a week.

Delegates of the CPPCC and NPC typically serve out their five-year terms, and their current terms are set to end in March 2028, which makes these mid-term removals unusual
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Han, 70, served as the PLA army’s commander from August 2017 until he retired in June 2021. His two successors, Liu Zhenli and Li Qiaoming, have also been removed from their respective roles in the last two months.

Liu Lei, also 70, served as political commissar of the army from December 2015 to January 2022, which includes the period during which Han was in command.

Gao, 67, was the inaugural commander of the now-dissolved Strategic Support Force when it was formed in 2015. He was most recently the commander of the Central Military Commission’s Logistic Support Department, until he retired in January 2022.

In addition to the three generals, several other CPPCC members were officially sacked, including Zhang Kejian, a senior official in the defence industry who is under investigation for corruption.

Monday’s removals follow a series of high-profile dismissals.

Just last Thursday, authorities announced they had sacked 19 officials, including nine from the military,

In January, China’s highest-ranking military general Zhang Youxia and his close ally Liu Zhenli were removed from their roles. Both generals are under investigation for “serious violations of discipline and law”, China’s defence ministry said.

By BBC News