Army’s call for commanders to obey Xi signals tensions

Members of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) walk past the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing

China’s military must “resolutely obey” orders from President Xi Jinping, a commentary on the PLA Daily website said, a sign Xi is seeking to quell possible dissent as his anti-graft probe penetrate deeper into the armed forces.
“Adherence to the Party’s absolute leadership is a founding principal of the army,” said the commentary published yesterday on the website of the People’s Liberation Army. All officers and soldiers should “resolutely obey” the Communist Party and Central Military Commission Chairman’s orders. Xi heads the party and the CMC, the highest military body.
Publication of the commentary comes two weeks after 16 People’s Liberation Army generals were put under investigation for graft as Xi seeks to root out corruption that he says undermines combat readiness.
“There must have been a lot of grumbling in the PLA,” said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, director of government and international studies at Hong Kong Baptist University. “It underscores that there must have been some friction between Xi and some leaders. Otherwise they wouldn’t need a front page commentary.”
Representatives of the military participated for the first time in the annual plenary session of the party’s top disciplinary agency, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, earlier this month, according to the official WeChat account of the People’s Daily.
At a recent internal meeting with senior military officials, Xi urged top PLA officers to set an example for both the military and the public.
“We should be self-disciplined,” Xi was quoted as saying on the official WeChat account. “If we ourselves indulge in indiscreet activities, how can we demand others to discipline themselves?”
Xu Caihou, a former vice chairman of the CMC, was expelled from the party last June. That marked the highest-level military graft probe since 1949. His case has been handed over to military prosecutors. David Tweed, Bloomberg