Xi ousts top PLA leaders in purge | JQJO

President Xi Jinping has ousted General He Weidong, the junior CMC vice-chair and third in command of the PLA, in the first in-office purge of such rank in six decades, along with eight other senior commanders. The Defence Ministry said the group, spanning the army, navy, rocket force and armed police, is suspected of major job-related crimes involving especially large sums, expelled from the party and sent to military prosecutors. Those removed include Miao Hua, Wang Houbin and He Hongjun. Eight of the nine sat on the Central Committee. The shake-up comes ahead of next week’s committee meeting.