Chinese General Accused in Corruption Probe, Commits Suicide

Chinese Gen. Zhang Yang, accused of corruption with ties to two other disgraced military authorities, committed suicide at his home, according to Chinese state-run media. Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s aggressive anti-corruption drive was investigating Yang of charges of “violating Party discipline.”

The South China Morning Post, quoting China’s state media reports that Zhang, 66, a former head of the powerful Central Military Commission’s (CMC) political work department, “hanged himself at his home in Beijing on the morning of November 23, and the news of his death had been relayed to all People’s Liberation Army theatre commands.”

Xinhua said Zhang had “serious disciplinary violations,” something the Post describes as “euphemism for corruption.” NPR’s Rob Schmitz, reporting from Shanghai, says the general “had disappeared from public sight more than two months ago amidst a crackdown on corruption within military ranks launched by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.”

Zhang had ties to Gen. Xu Caihou, the former head of the army’s political department, and Gen. Guo Boxiong, a former vice-chairman of the CMC. Both were accused of corruption — Xu died of cancer before he could be imprisoned and in July 2016, Guo was given a prison term of life.

Xi Jinping’s drive to erase the rampant corruption in Chinese society has made him a popular figure with the populace but not so much with the high-ranking members who have profited from the practice, but according to NPR, is still a major issue in the Chinese healthcare and education sectors.

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