Li Shangfu is the latest officer to fall victim to Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive.
In Russia you fall out of a window; in China you just cease to exist.
China learnt from Stalin.
He is famous for rewriting history and having people literally retouched out of old photographs.
Equally transparent yet less conspicuous.
Putin: “It’s about sending a message…”
China’s National Defense Minister Li Shangfu has been missing for weeks. Now, he’s under investigation for corruption and out of a job
Probably getting fired and/or arrested for corruption if I had to guess. Just a thought though.
Wow so you don’t think Xi abducted him in the middle of the night with the tractor beam on his spaceship
If Xi piloted a flying saucer to kidnap military officers, I’d have no choice but to support him.
Probably just routine cleansing. You can’t let anyone stay in such high power in the military in these types of countries. That way they cant consolidate power against the regime.
Xi like all dictators is paranoid and getting old. He is angry that he will not live forever and killing anyone who shows any real competency.
Once he dies, the CCP will be left with the also rans who were too average to scare Xi.
Why kill someone when you can just force them to retire?
Dictators seem to outlive most people it seems. Mugabe made it to 90s. Obiang is 81. Everyone is waiting for Putin. Xi could also join this club, if he starts hitting the gym.
Disappearing doesn’t mean killling. It could just be forced retirement with an nda
This is the best summary I could come up with:
But it does indicate that despite his most strenuous efforts, such misconduct is still occurring at some of the highest and most visible levels of the People’s Liberation Army — potentially hampering his ambitions to modernize the force.
Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, didn’t address Li’s disappearance and subsequent sacking at a press briefing Friday, CNN reported, telling reporters, “I’m not aware of the situation.” The Chinese government’s unwillingness to address the disappearances and firings of several top officials in recent months has only fueled speculation and rumor, both within China and internationally.
Prior to taking the defense minister post, the 65-year-old Li was head of the Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission, the body which oversees the PLA.
In recent years he has particularly targeted the PLA, where corruption is just the name of the game, as Roderick Lee, director of research at the Air University’s China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI), told Vox in an interview.
“In the case of Li, just like Qin Gang before, it’s perplexing that this happens so soon after a high profile elevation to a prominent role,” David Stroup, a lecturer in Chinese politics at the University of Manchester told Vox.
If the rumors and speculation about corruption in the EDD and Rocket Force — China’s most sensitive and vaunted military office — are true, that would certainly get in the way of those modernization goals.
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