High-ranking military official placed under investigation, defense ministry says

China has suspended a high-ranking military official while he is being investigated, its Defense Ministry announced yesterday.

The official, Miao Hua, is director of the Political Work Department on the powerful Central Military Commission that oversees the People’s Liberation Army. He is one of five members of the body that oversees the world’s largest standing military, in addition to China’s leader Xi Jinping, who heads the commission.

Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said Miao is under investigation for “serious violations of discipline,” which usually alludes to issues of corruption.

This is the third recent major shakeup for China’s defense establishment. In June, China announced that former Defense Minister Li Shangfu and his predecessor Wei Fenghe were accused of corruption and expelled from the party. They were being investigated for corruption and bribery, after initially facing suspension.

In Xi’s first term as Party Secretary, he was known for a multi-year campaign against corruption that has brought down numerous high-profile political rivals, and thousands of officials. This has led some to allege a widespread purge of officers suspected of conspiring with outside forces or simply being insufficiently loyal to Xi.

High-ranking officers occupy an elevated position in Chinese politics and can command extensive privileges, official and unofficial.

Miao being placed under investigation comes after the Financial Times reported that Defense Minister Dong Jun was under investigation and suspended.

The Defense Ministry spokesperson said Dong was not under any investigation and called the report a “sheer fabrication.”

Miao, by sitting on the commission that is a Communist Party committee, outranks Dong and anyone who holds the position of defense minister, as Communist Party positions are more powerful than government institutions in China. MDT/AP