Newcomers in charge at PLA’s corruption-hit command overseeing Taiwan

Newcomers in charge at PLAs corruption-hit command overseeing Taiwan

The mainland Chinese military’s Eastern Theatre Command, the corruption-hit division that oversees Taiwan, appears to be headed by two recent additions to the command. The appointments will enable the command to maintain continuity of operations despite the corruption cases among its leadership, according to an analyst. PLA Air Force Lieutenant General Yang Zhibin, 62, and…

The mainland Chinese military’s Eastern Theatre Command, the corruption-hit division that oversees Taiwan, appears to be headed by two recent additions to the command.

The appointments will enable the command to maintain continuity of operations despite the corruption cases among its leadership, according to an analyst.

PLA Air Force Lieutenant General Yang Zhibin, 62, and Lieutenant General Zhang Jichun, 57, stood alongside other senior officials at mainland China’s annual commemoration of the Nanking massacre in Nanjing, in eastern Jiangsu province, on Saturday, according to footage aired by state broadcaster CCTV.

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PLA anti-graft chief Zhang Shengmin promoted to vice-chair of Central Military Commission

PLA anti-graft chief Zhang Shengmin promoted to vice-chair of Central Military Commission

While official reports did not refer to Yang and Zhang by title, they did say that top officials from the Eastern Theatre Command were present. The two men, together with General Liu Zhenli, the People’s Liberation Army chief of staff of the Joint Staff Department, were the only senior military officers present.
At the same event last year, both the commander and the political commissar of the theatre command were in the same positions. The commander at the time, Lin Xiangyang, was expelled from the Communist Party on corruption charges and handed over to prosecutors in October, while former political commissar Liu Qingsong has not been seen in public for months.

The tightly scripted annual commemoration is regarded as an important national event to remind the public of the 1937 massacre in which China says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in what was then its capital. The ranks and positions of civilian and military officials attending follow strict procedures.

Shi Taifeng, head of the party’s organisation department and one of 23 Politburo members, was the highest-ranking official to attend the 88th anniversary commemoration.

Yang and Zhang also represented the theatre command at an event in September, months after Lin and Liu disappeared.

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