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Thursday 21 May 2009
Hu intolerant of graft in PLA, analysts say
President Hu Jintao’s warning against “hedonism and individualism” among the military’s top brass reflected his intolerance of rampant corruption inside the People’s Liberation Army, military analysts have said.
President Hu Jintao’s warning against “hedonism and individualism” among the military’s top brass reflected his intolerance of rampant corruption inside the People’s Liberation Army, military analysts have said.
A circular released recently by Mr. Hu, who is also chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), listed seven accusations against high-ranking officers - hedonism, individualism, lack of knowledge, failure to reform, irresponsibility, disobedience and dereliction of duty.
His warning came months into a five-year anti-graft campaign within the PLA, launched last October.
Xu Guangyu , a retired PLA general, said it was rare for the president to make specific accusations against the top brass.
“It’s true some PLA officers have violated military regulations because corruption, luxury and hedonism are inevitable problems in today’s peace-time and market-oriented society,” Mr. Xu said.
“With the warning, Chairman Hu was aiming to alert military officials, especially the top leaders, of the CMC’s determination to forge ahead with the anti-corruption campaign.”
A Shanghai-based retired colonel said Mr. Hu’s warning showed his patience was wearing thin.
“Corruption in the army is not a new topic but a historical problem which began when Jiang Zemin promoted 79 generals to win the army’s support,” the expert said.
“In Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping’s time, the party had some influence over the army because of Mao and Deng’s military backgrounds. But Deng only ever promoted 17 generals.”
The expert said the PLA was built to exist in isolation from the rest of the country, so high-ranking officers enjoyed all kinds of privileges.
“The Communist Party can’t intervene in its personnel management, except for the appointment of heads for the eight military commands. Indeed, cultivating power bases is common due to the difficulties in personnel exchange. The power of top military leaders has never been controlled as even the CMC, which is responsible for determining the PLA’s budget, doesn’t have the authority to audit its expenses.”
The expert stressed Mr. Jiang’s promotions should be blamed for the culture of corruption within the PLA.
Earlier this year, a letter allegedly written by a PLA soldier to the CMC exposing corruption was widely circulated on the internet and was not blocked by the censorship machine.
The letter claimed that even the recruitment of soldiers, food purchasing and grass-roots promotion of cadres were not immune.
“A soldier who wants to be promoted to [non commissioned officer] should pay at least 100,000 yuan [HK$114,000] to get five ranks higher,” the soldier wrote. “If you don’t have 100,000 to 200,000 yuan, don’t dream of getting promoted to political commissar.”
The Shanghai expert said the revelations in the letter were true. “President Hu has wanted to improve the PLA’s image since he took over. But I don’t think he can solve the problems because he lacks his own network inside the military.”
General Xu stressed that an army should be well disciplined in both war and peace time. “It’s impossible to demand today’s top brass maintain the plain living of their predecessors,” the 75-year-old said. “That’s why the central government has continued to raise their pay in the last two decades. But high-ranking officers should uphold our traditional spirit of keeping our hands clean at all times because it’s a rule.”
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Hu intolerant of graft in PLA, analysts say
Minnie Chan
21 May 2009
President Hu Jintao’s warning against “hedonism and individualism” among the military’s top brass reflected his intolerance of rampant corruption inside the People’s Liberation Army, military analysts have said.
A circular released recently by Mr. Hu, who is also chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), listed seven accusations against high-ranking officers - hedonism, individualism, lack of knowledge, failure to reform, irresponsibility, disobedience and dereliction of duty.
His warning came months into a five-year anti-graft campaign within the PLA, launched last October.
Xu Guangyu , a retired PLA general, said it was rare for the president to make specific accusations against the top brass.
“It’s true some PLA officers have violated military regulations because corruption, luxury and hedonism are inevitable problems in today’s peace-time and market-oriented society,” Mr. Xu said.
“With the warning, Chairman Hu was aiming to alert military officials, especially the top leaders, of the CMC’s determination to forge ahead with the anti-corruption campaign.”
A Shanghai-based retired colonel said Mr. Hu’s warning showed his patience was wearing thin.
“Corruption in the army is not a new topic but a historical problem which began when Jiang Zemin promoted 79 generals to win the army’s support,” the expert said.
“In Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping’s time, the party had some influence over the army because of Mao and Deng’s military backgrounds. But Deng only ever promoted 17 generals.”
The expert said the PLA was built to exist in isolation from the rest of the country, so high-ranking officers enjoyed all kinds of privileges.
“The Communist Party can’t intervene in its personnel management, except for the appointment of heads for the eight military commands. Indeed, cultivating power bases is common due to the difficulties in personnel exchange. The power of top military leaders has never been controlled as even the CMC, which is responsible for determining the PLA’s budget, doesn’t have the authority to audit its expenses.”
The expert stressed Mr. Jiang’s promotions should be blamed for the culture of corruption within the PLA.
Earlier this year, a letter allegedly written by a PLA soldier to the CMC exposing corruption was widely circulated on the internet and was not blocked by the censorship machine.
The letter claimed that even the recruitment of soldiers, food purchasing and grass-roots promotion of cadres were not immune.
“A soldier who wants to be promoted to [non commissioned officer] should pay at least 100,000 yuan [HK$114,000] to get five ranks higher,” the soldier wrote. “If you don’t have 100,000 to 200,000 yuan, don’t dream of getting promoted to political commissar.”
The Shanghai expert said the revelations in the letter were true. “President Hu has wanted to improve the PLA’s image since he took over. But I don’t think he can solve the problems because he lacks his own network inside the military.”
General Xu stressed that an army should be well disciplined in both war and peace time. “It’s impossible to demand today’s top brass maintain the plain living of their predecessors,” the 75-year-old said. “That’s why the central government has continued to raise their pay in the last two decades. But high-ranking officers should uphold our traditional spirit of keeping our hands clean at all times because it’s a rule.”
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