Senior Chinese military official under investigation, defence ministry says

28/11/2024 18:29

        China said on Thursday a top-ranking military official had been suspended and was under investigation for "serious violations of discipline," and denied reports Defence Minister Dong Jun was being investigated for corruption.
        
        The suspended officer, Admiral Miao Hua, served on the ruling Central Military Commission, China's highest-level military body, and was stationed in the coastal province of Fujian when President Xi Jinping worked there as a local official, according to his official biography.
        
        Miao, who began his career in the army, has been the military's leading political officer.
        
        A defence ministry spokesperson, Wu Qian, who briefed reporters at a monthly press conference in Beijing, provided no further details.
        
        China's military has undergone a sweeping anti-corruption purge since last year, with at least nine People's Liberation Army generals and a handful of defence industry executives removed from the national legislative body.
        
        Wu said media reports that Dong had been sidelined by an investigation were "sheer fabrication" spread by rumour-mongers with evil motivations.