According to a report released Wednesday, Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun has been charged with corruption. He is the most recent official to be fired in a broad campaign against corruption in the nation’s armed forces.
According to the British publication the Financial Times, which cited current and former US officials with knowledge of the matter, the investigation against Dong was a component of a larger investigation into military misconduct.
When AFP asked for confirmation Wednesday morning, neither Beijing’s foreign ministry nor its embassy in Washington responded.
Dong, a former naval commander, was named defence minister in December of last year after Li Shangfu was abruptly fired after only seven months in office.
Li was later expelled from the ruling Communist Party for offences including suspected bribery, state media said.
His predecessor, Wei Fenghe, was also kicked out of the party and passed on to prosecutors over alleged corruption.
Beijing has deepened a crackdown on alleged graft in the armed forces over the past year, with President Xi Jinping this month ordering the military to stamp out corruption and strengthen their “war-preparedness”.
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