New Delhi: Admiral Miao Hua, a member of China’s powerful Central Military Commission (CMC) which oversees armed forces operations, is suspected of “legal violations”, indicating charges against him are more serious than previously reported, and has been removed from the National People’s Congress.
The case surrounding Miao comes even as Second Vice Chairman of the CMC and Politburo member General He Weidong continues to remain missing since March.
Admiral Miao was the director of the CMC’s political work department and was suspended from office, as announced by the Chinese Ministry of National Defence in November last year. At the time, he was “suspected of serious violations of discipline”.
However, in its latest statement, the political work department said it has been decided to remove Miao from China’s top legislature—the National People’s Congress—last month for “suspected serious violations of discipline and law”, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported Friday.
The political work department is responsible for ideological control and the management of personnel within the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). According to the SCMP, the type of charges reported against Miao is more severe than what was first announced in November.
Apart from this, no further details on the case have been reported till date.
The news regarding Miao comes as another member of the CMC—He Weidong—continues to remain out of view of the public for almost three months. The missing General and Miao’s downfall comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping continues his anti-graft drive amongst the top echelons of the PLA.
A number of senior military officials, including two former ministers of defence, have been removed from their positions in recent years as a part of the anti-corruption drive. Miao was the seventh member of the all-powerful CMC to be removed from his post since Xi assumed power in 2012.
In fact, one of Miao’s predecessors, General Zhang Yang died by suicide in 2017, amidst an investigation into his ties with two disgraced former military individuals during Xi’s anti-corruption drive at the time.
Miao was the second CMC member to be removed from his position following the dismissal of Li Shangfu, the former minister of defence in 2023, since the current term of office for the leadership began in 2022.
The CMC oversees the armed forces in China, in a change from other systems, where the role usually lies with the minister of defence. The minister of defence represents the PLA externally. The chairman of the CMC is President Xi, while there are two vice-chairpersons and other members of the powerful body.
Xi has consistently pushed for ideological loyalty to the Communist Party amongst the senior leadership of the Chinese military. Miao remains a CMC member, however, his name no longer appears in the English website of the organisation. His career was shaped by Xi, with Miao becoming the youngest admiral in the PLA.
He Weidong, the Second Vice Chairman of the CMC, missed a study session of the Politburo organised by President Xi in the end of April. His last public appearance is reported to have been on 11 March.
Miao and He Weidong are the latest members of the CMC to come under the anti-corruption net. In June 2024, Li was expelled from the Communist Party and charged with graft.
Li, a former head of the Rocket Force, was appointed Minister of Defence by Xi and held the post for roughly seven months before disappearing. His predecessor Wei Fenghe, who was also a commander in the Rocket Force was also expelled from the Communist Party on the same day as Li.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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