Beijing
AP
—
The Ministry of Defense announced Saturday that China’s top military commander is being investigated for serious violations of discipline and the law.
Zhang Youxia, the senior of the two vice-chairmen of the powerful Central Military Commission, is the latest to be targeted in a long-running purge of senior military officials.
Analysts believe the purge is aimed both at reforming the military and ensuring loyalty to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who is also chairman of the military commission. They are part of a broader anti-corruption campaign that has punished more than 200,000 officials since Xi took power in 2012.
Another member of the committee, Liu Zhenli, is also under investigation by China’s ruling Communist Party, according to a statement from the Defense Ministry. Mr. Liu is the chief of staff of the committee’s Joint Staff. The commission is China’s highest military body.
The statement did not provide details about the alleged wrongdoing.
Zhang, 75, joined the People’s Liberation Army in 1968 and is a general in the ground forces.
Last October, the Communist Party expelled He Weidong, the committee’s other vice-chairman, and replaced him with committee member Zhang Shengmin.
