A prominent Chinese general under investigation for corruption has committed suicide, China’s state media said on Tuesday.
Zhang Yang, 66, had been investigated by the anti-corruption officers of the Chinese armies since August, the official Xinhua news agency said.
The suicide of the once high-ranking military officer was the latest development in a sweeping anti-graft campaign enforced by President Xi Jinping that has shaken the armed forces in China.
General Zhang Yang committed suicide as he was put under corruption investigation. He was pictured inspecting the paramilitary police force in Beijing, China, in 2014 as the director of the Political Work Department of Chinese People’s Liberation Army
In this March 8, 2017, photo, Zhang Yang (left), the then-head of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) political affairs department, and Fang Fenghui (right), the then-chief of the general staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, attend the China’s National People’s Congress
The investigation into Zhang, 66, had verified that he ‘gravely violated discipline’, was ‘suspected of giving and taking bribes’ and the origin of a huge amount of assets was unclear, Xinhua said.
‘On the afternoon of Nov. 23, Zhang Yang hanged himself at home,’ the agency said.
Zhang was a former member of the powerful Central Military Commission and a former director at the The Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission.
He was investigated over links to disgraced generals Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou, both of whom had been jailed for corruption.
Xinhua said Xu had been resting at home while being questioned by Central Military Commission for nearly three months.
Overseas-based Chinese media, including NTDTV, reported Zhang killed himself while being visited by the officers from the Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Central Military Commission. The reports also claimed he told the officers he wanted to change his clothes and then committed suicide.
The above accounts have not been confirmed by Chinese official media.
Zhang was investigated over links to disgraced Xu Caihou (file photo), who was expelled from the Communist Party of China and accused of accepting bribes in 2014
Zhang was also thought to be related to Guo Boxiong (file photo) who was sentenced to life in prison for accepting bribes last year
A suicide by an officer who held such a senior post is rare.
However, experts have said the frequency of officials from various levels of government taking their own lives may have increased as a result of the intensity of the corruption crackdown since President Xi Jinping took power five years ago.
A commentary carried on both the Defense Ministry and military’s official websites said the Central Military Commission decided on Aug. 28 to investigate Zhang.
The commentary said Zhang had ‘lost his moral bottom line’ and used suicide as a means to ‘escape punishment from the party and country’. It also referred to the suicide as an ‘extremely abominable act’.
Generals of Chinese People’s Liberation Army (from left to right) Chang Wanquan, Fang Fenghui, Zhang Yang, Zhao Keshi and Zhang Youxia line up to cast their votes into a box during the fifth plenary meeting of the National People’s Congress on March 15, 2013 in Beijing
‘This former general of high position and great power used this shameful way to end his own life,’ the commentary said.
‘He would exhort loyalty but be corrupt behind others’ backs, a typical ‘two-faced person’,’ it said.
Sources had told Reuters that Zhang, who had served as director of the military’s Political Work Department, had been subject to an investigation, but the government had not announced it.
Zhang’s downfall was foreshadowed in September when he failed to make a list of 303 military delegates to the ruling Communist Party’s key five-yearly congress, along with fellow CMC member Fang Fenghui.
Both men were replaced at the congress, held last month, as part of a sweeping military leadership reshuffle in which Xi install trusted allies in key positions.
XI’S FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION
Chinese President Xi Jinping has made his wide-ranging anti-corruption campaign the hallmark of his first five years in office.
China’s military, the world’s largest and undergoing an ambitious modernisation campaign, has been an important focus of Xi’s deep-seated fight against corruption.
Serving and retired officers have said graft in the armed forces is so pervasive it could undermine China’s ability to wage war.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has launched wide-ranging anti-corruption campaign
Dozens of officers have been investigated and jailed, including Xu and Guo, both former vice chairmen of the commission, which Xi heads.
Xu once ran the Political Work Department, which is in charge of imbuing political thought and makes military personnel decisions, and along with Guo was accused of taking bribes in exchange for promotions.
Guo was jailed for life last year. Xu died of cancer in 2015 before he could face trial.
At the national congress last month, Xi appointed Zhao Leji as the Chinese Communist Party’s new anti-corruption chief.
Zhao, 60, is a new member of China’s seven-member Politburo Standing Committee, the organisation that holds the ultimate power in China.