Chaos in China as top military officials accused of leaking nuclear secrets | World | News
The defense ministry said the Chinese army’s top general was being investigated for suspected serious violations of discipline and law. Zhang Youxia, the senior of the two vice-chairmen of the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC), is the latest figure to fall in the long-running purges of military officials.
Accordingly Wall StreetJournalGeneral Zhang was accused of giving China’s nuclear weapons data to Washington in a closed-door briefing with senior officers. Before his dismissal, he was also accused of accepting bribes and forming a “political clique”. Some of China’s most senior officials attended the briefing and described how they had uncovered a security breach in the nuclear sector that they believed was linked to Zhang.
General Zhang, 75, joined the People’s Liberation Army in 1968 and serves as a general in the ground forces.
The Communist Party expelled the commission’s other vice chairman, He Weidong, last October and replaced him with commissioner Zhang Shengmin.
A childhood friend of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, he was until now considered untouchable because of his unique relationship with the president and has survived multiple purges in recent years.
According to US intelligence, the CMC has been ordered to ensure readiness to invade Taiwan by the end of 2027; Earlier purges were seen as a sign of growing frustration with the pace of reform of the Chinese military.
Analysts believe the purges are designed to ensure loyalty to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who also chairs the military commission.
They are part of a broader anti-corruption drive that has punished more than 200,000 officials since Mr. Xi took power in 2012.
In the statement made by the defense ministry, it was stated that another member of the commission, Liu Zhenli, was also under investigation by China’s ruling Communist Party.
Mr. Liu is the chief of staff of the commission’s Joint Staff Department. The commission is China’s top military body.
The statement did not provide any details about the alleged irregularity.
