Once the second most powerful man in the Chinese military, Xu Caihou has died of bladder cancer aged 71 while awaiting trail for corruption.
Formerly a member of the elite Politburo decision-making body and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, General Xu was placed under investigation on charges of bribery in March 2014, and was expelled from the Communist Party two months thereafter.
The highest-ranking target in president Xi Jinping's anti-corruption drive, for over a decade Xu held supreme and unchecked power over the promotion and demotion of two and a half million PLA troops as well as 80,000 military officials. The Dalian native has been accused of raking in millions by selling military ranks.
In November last year, official sources alleged that one metric ton of RMB cash - totaling over RMB87 million - was discovered in Xu's Beijing mansion, along with a cache of imperial jewelry and other priceless artifacts.
READ MORE: This corrupt official hid a ton of cash in his home. Literally. They weighed it.
Although Xu will never be brought to justice for his part in crippling the PLA with pervasive corruption, his pre-trial death may be welcome news for government officials who will be spared a public airing of the military's dirty laundry. Corruption within China's armed forces is said to be so pervasive that it could undermine the country's ability to wage war.
Xu is understood to have been an ally of big baddies Bo Xilai and Zhou Yongkang as well as protege of former president Jiang Zemin, whose faction within the Party has become the primary target of Xi's anti-corruption campaign.
The announcement of his death comes almost exactly one year to the date that investigations into graft chargers against Xu were first announced, and right as the Two Sessions of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Committee draws to a close in Beijing.
[Image via DW]
0 User Comments