Top Chinese Military General Hangs Himself at Home After Being Exposed for Corruption

Chinese authorities suspected that there might be a link between Zhang and two former corrupt senior military officers, CMC vice-chairmen Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou, according to Xinhua. The CMC also put its talk with Zhang on “hold” to further investigate his involvement with Guo and Xu’s case on Aug. 28.

The 66-year-old military official was suspected of serious disciplinary and law violations, including accepting and offering bribes, and that he reportedly owned a lot of property from “unidentified sources”.

There are speculations within military circles suggesting that Zhang may have given Guo more than 25 million yuan ($3.7 million) of bribe money, said an unnamed source from Guangzhou, South China Morning Post reported.

The general’s luxury home villa is also located in Guangzhou, where military inspectors searched and seized its contents on Saturday.

On Tuesday, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Daily addressed Zhang’s demise by calling it a “bad move to escape punishment.”

An article on the PLA’s website noted that “the case of Zhang Yang shows that a lot still needs to be done in eliminating the pernicious influence of Guo and Xu, and in the construction of Party conduct and honest, clean government, as well as in the fight against corruption.”

“The army should thus nourish toughness and perseverance as if they are always ‘on the road,’ to eradicate any virus that corrodes the health of the PLA,” the article continued.

Zhang’s political work for the CMC was taken over by Admiral Miao Hua back in late August.

Zhang, along with another military higher-up, General Fang Fenghui, who has been replaced as Chief of General by General Li Zuocheng, were questioned by the CMC before being released and put under house arrest.

Featured Image via YouTube / CCTV+