PLA Daily
December 17, 2014
On December 17, the Chinese military flagship newspaper People’s Liberation Army Daily (PLA Daily) carried a high profile opinion article titled “Anti-corruption Is a Life and Death Battle That We Cannot Afford to Lose.” Some of the wording was strong and direct.
“About corruption, there are two camps of arguments that are worthy of attention. One is whether the continual strikes on corruption will actually cost the support of the public; the other is whether the anti-corruption campaign can really continue.”
“These concerns, to some extent, exemplify the ‘stalemate between the corruption and anti-corruption forces.” If misconceptions are not clarified in a timely manner, if people’s thinking is not further unified, and if their faith is not strengthened, it is bound to be difficult to completely eliminate the pernicious influence of Xu Caihou (former Vice Chair of the Central Military Commission, put under investigation and expelled from the Communist Party in June 2014) and carry out the fight against corruption to the end.”
“There is no special area for corruption and no taboo against anti-corruption. As ‘big tigers’ like Zhou Yongkang (Zhou is a former member of the Politburo Standing Committee; on December 5, 2014, state media announced Zhou’s arrest to face criminal charges, as well as his expulsion from the Communist Party of China.) and Xu Caihou are removed, who else can remain as an exception? The central leadership of the Party and Chairman Xi will not tolerate any corruption; they will surely investigate and punish violations of law and discipline.”
“The military is holding the barrel of the gun. It is a strong pillar of the ruling party. If the military engages a corrupt army, the barrel of the gun will turn to rust and the pillar will collapse. Then what would be there to guarantee the stability of the country and the people’s happiness and peace? History has repeatedly proven that as long as the military is absolutely loyal, absolutely pure, and absolutely reliable, the country will not fall into big trouble. There must not be any hiding place for the corrupt. This is the Party’s special political requirement for the army.”
