Rank and vile
Xi Jinping flexes his muscle against army corruption
SO EXTENSIVE was the stash of jade, gold and cash found in the basement of General Xu Caihou’s mansion in Beijing that at least ten lorries were needed to haul it away, according to the Chinese press last October. Given General Xu’s recent retirement as the highest ranking uniformed officer in the armed forces, this was astonishing news. General Xu, the media said, had accepted “extremely large” bribes, for which he now faces trial. It will be the first of such an exalted military figure since the Communist Party came to power in 1949.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA)—as the Chinese army, navy and air force are collectively known—has not fought a war for 35 years. But the world’s largest fighting force is now engaged in a fierce battle at home against corrosion within its ranks.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline "Rank and vile"
China February 14th 2015
More from China
How Chinese networks clean dirty money on a vast scale
These shadowy “banks” are becoming the financiers of choice for transnational criminal gangs
The dark side of growing old
A coming wave of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia will test China to its limits
Examining the fluff that frustrates northern China
An effort to improve the environment has had unintended consequences