Former Top Chinese Military Logistics General Said to Be Investigated

Dong Mingxiang, former chief Beijing Military Region logistics chief, is the latest top military official facing investigation. Screen shot/Dongfang Daily

Dong Mingxiang, an ex-military logistics chief, is the third top-rung Chinese general to be investigated for corruption, according to Chinese media.

The 62-year-old major general, who once headed Beijing Military Region’s Joint Logistics Department, was reportedly taken away by a “relevant department” in the military on March 3, according to a report by Caixin, a business publication, on Monday.

Dong was said to be charged with giving huge bribes to secure promotion. He is not the first military logistics official from the Beijing Military Region to be purged—Xia Shenbai, Dong’s former deputy, was investigated and prosecuted in 2011 for corruption.

Caixin, which often carries exclusive news about Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign, also claims that the military will soon release a list of generals who are being suspected of “serious violations of discipline and the law”—a phrase which usually refers to massive bribery and other forms of misbehavior.

Chinese military generals that have been investigated are found to be immensely wealthy—recently deceased ex-general Xu Caihou, formerly the second most powerful man in the Chinese military, was reported to have had 22 billion yuan ($3.5 billion) worth in property and assets; Gu Junshan, a former deputy logistics chief, was said to have had possessions and cash totaling 200 billion yuan (about $32 billion).

Earlier this week, Chinese media claims that another big “tiger”—Party speak for high-ranking corrupt officials—Guo Boxiong, another former vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, has been arrested, along with his wife. Guo’s son, Guo Zhenggang, was earlier investigated on March 2, along with 14 others.

The Chinese military has recently been stepping up corruption investigations. According to state-run online news website Peng Pai, 16 generals were probed in 2014—half of the 32 military officials who have been taken down since the beginning of Xi Jinping’s Party rectification campaign after he took power in late 2012.