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China’s military mouthpiece has launched a series on “political rectification” – linking it to the ideological purity of the People’s Liberation Army – days after several generals were expelled from the ruling Communist Party for corruption. In the first instalment on Monday, PLA Daily ran four pages of commentary and reporting urging the military to “strengthen and consolidate the consciousness of alignment and adherence”. That was a reference to the alignment between the party leadership and the Central Military Commission, which is chaired by Xi Jinping. The editorial launching the “Deepening Political Rectification” series said that “the smoke of ideological warfare has never dissipated; the tug of war between fortifying and undermining our foundations rages on, and the struggle between forging and corrupting souls persists”. It said the key to addressing these challenges was political rectification. Official Chinese media outlets have previously interpreted this notion as a process of self-reflection to ensure the political “loyalty and reliability” of the military – with the main goal being to root out corruption. The editorial was attributed to Liu Guangming but no institutional affiliation was given. It stated that, “confronted with complex international and domestic circumstances, intricate ideological struggles and diverse cultural influences”, the entire Chinese military must remain vigilant, contemplate the dangers of “greed”, and maintain stability amid the “raging waves of temptation”. The editorial also called on the PLA to reinforce the fundamental principle of “the party commands the gun”, to stand firm on “political principles in matters of major significance” and to uphold “fundamental principles in the face of temptations”. PLA Daily also revisited last century’s communist revolutionary period and ran a report on political reflection by military units and personnel. That included an account of an army brigade that discovered safety hazards before a missile launch during training in the northwest of the country. The report did not say when the incident took place, but said a political reflection exercise had been conducted afterwards which had fostered a new ethos involving “the courage to take action and the courage to charge forward”. It comes after the party’s Central Committee held its fourth plenum last week. The military’s anti-corruption chief, Zhang Shengmin, was promoted to vice-chairman of the powerful CMC during the four-day conclave. Party leaders also endorsed a decision to expel nine generals from the Central Committee, including Zhang’s predecessor He Weidong. An investigation of Zhang Fengzhong, a senior general with the PLA Rocket Force – which oversees most of China’s nuclear arsenal – was also announced. A PLA Daily editorial on Friday hailed these moves and said the anti-corruption drive within the military would continue and that it would boost war readiness. “The army holds the gun barrel for the party, and it must not be a hiding place for corrupt elements,” the editorial said. Footage aired on state broadcaster CCTV showed that at least 16 other top military officers – who remain Central Committee members – were absent from last week’s meeting with no explanation given. None have been publicly targeted by the graft-busters. They included Li Qiaoming, Hu Zhongming, Huang Ming and Wang Haijiang – the commanders of the ground force, navy, and the northern and western theatre commands, respectively. In a commentary earlier this month, PLA Daily accused corrupt senior officers, including former CMC vice-chairman He, of having “a total collapse of their beliefs”. It said the officers had been “disloyal” and that they had lost their “chastity”, echoing the language used last year when former defence minister Wei Fenghe was expelled from the party and placed under investigation. It also said they had done serious damage to the principle that the party commands the army, and that the army was accountable to the CMC chairman.
