The military corruption scandal, notably within the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, continues to evolve. The probe found Jiang Mianheng, the son of the late and former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Jiang Zemin, has formed a political gang among the corrupt military leaders, many of whom were leaders promoted by CCP leader Xi Jinping, according to Yuan Hongbing, an Australia-based scholar holding connections with the upper echelons of the CCP, in an exclusive interview with the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times.
He said the ongoing fallout from cases surrounding the former foreign minister Qin Gang and former defense minister Li Shangfu has implicated an increasingly broad range of high-ranking officials in the CCP military. Many of these senior officials purged are predominantly Mr. Xi’s loyalists in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of National Defense, the Rocket Force, the Strategic Support Force, and military-industrial enterprises.
“Ju Qiansheng, commander of the Strategic Support Force, and Xu Zhongbo, the former political commissar of the Rocket Force, have directly implicated Jiang Mianheng in the investigation,” said Mr. Yuan.
Last year, Mr. Ju vanished from public view for nearly six months amid rumors of being under investigation. An insider revealed that he made a comprehensive confession which in turn led to a broader suppression of corrupt officials, according to Mr. Yuan.
Li Yuchao stepped down from his position as the commander of the Rocket Force in July last year.
Dual Allegiance
Mr. Yuan described the change that has occurred from a corruption case within Mr. Xi’s military clan to a conflict between political factions within the CCP.
The recent probe in the military has seen many generals sacked: former Defense Ministers Li Shangfu, and Wei Fenghe, former Rocket Force Commander Zhou Yaning, former Air Force Commander Ding Laihang, and former Rocket Force Commander Li Yuchao.
Other generals include Lu Hong, director of the Rocket Force Equipment Department, Li Chuanguang, deputy commander of the Rocket Force, Zhang Zhenzhong, deputy chief of staff of the Joint Staff Department of the CCP Central Military Commission (CMC), Zhang Yulin, former deputy director of the Equipment Development Department of CMC, Rao Wenmin, former deputy director of the Equipment Development Department of CMC, and Ju Xinchun, former deputy commander of the southern theater, and Li Zhizhong, former deputy commander of the central theater.
There are also many top CCP military industry officials who have been sacked recently, including Wu Yansheng, chairman of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, Liu Shiquan, chairman of China North Industries Corporation, Wang Changqing, deputy general manager of China Aerospace Science & Industry Corporation, Feng Jiehong, chairman of China Sanjiang Space Group, and Wang Xiaojun, the former president of China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology.
Mr. Yuan indicated that the CCP authorities perceive these individuals as having formed a political faction together with Jiang Mianheng that is grounded in economic corruption and an exchange of power. In private, during informal gatherings, they criticize Mr. Xi’s incompetent governance and his policies they believe have caused a national disaster.
“The investigation has transformed from a loyalty test towards Xi Jinping within Xi’s military clan into a major colluding political faction involving Jiang Mianheng,” said Mr. Yuan.
He said that the case is yet to be concluded due to two factors. Firstly, the number of individuals implicated in the case continues to expand. Secondly, Mr. Xi’s stance remains undecided.
“He has yet to determine whether to utilize this case for a comprehensive political purge against Jiang Mianheng,” said Mr. Yuan.
Noting that factional infighting between Mr. Xi and the former leader Jiang subsided along with the death of Jiang, but his son, Jiang Mianheng, became a sensitive person for the upper echelon of CCP leaders.
During his tenure, the policy of the late Jiang allowed all the CCP leaders to become wealthy through corruption, and this brought him many loyalists, including among those who remain in the military.
Consequently, decisions regarding individuals like Li Shangfu and Qin Gang cannot be publicly announced, and therefore the Third Plenum is unlikely to happen, explained Mr. Yuan.
The CCP usually holds the third plenum in October or November, a significant closed-door meeting on the state economic policy. However, the regime has been quiet about the meeting.
The Rocket Force corruption case has led Mr. Xi to the realization that “an entirely loyal military Xi faction does not exist,” said Mr. Yuan. The bureaucratic team he developed “largely comprises individuals with dual allegiances.”
Mr. Yuan said, “Xi Jinping finds himself surrounded by figures like Qin Gang and Li Shangfu, whom he handpicked despite their lack of achievements, [and who] have formed political alliances with Jiang Mianheng behind the scenes. This represents his most significant crisis and challenge at present.”
