Opinion | Time for Xi to clean up the sleaze pervading the PLA
The president has made a good start in reining in the excesses of the military. He should lift the veil of secrecy that often cloaks the guilty
Thursday marked the 86th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army, the first key military occasion overseen by President Xi Jinping in his capacity Central Military Commission chairman.
Celebrations, however, were largely restrained. Xi paid a visit to the headquarters of the Beijing Military Region and, in adherence to custom, promoted six senior military officers ahead of the anniversary.
More notable were comments by a professor at the National Defence University. In an online chat organised by the People's Daily, Gong Fangbin generally followed the party line, trying hard to defend why the armed forces should remain under the control of the Communist Party as they have for six decades - no surprise there.
But Gong was also unusually candid in acknowledging the challenges the PLA face, including its combat-readiness for potential military conflicts involving the East and the South China Sea.
Interestingly, Gong mentioned the corruption cases involving Lieutenant General Gu Junshan and his predecessor former deputy admiral Wang Shouye , saying such crimes involving senior military officers had made mainlanders unhappy.
His public acknowledgment of corruption in the PLA was highlighted by mainland news portals and newspapers.
Indeed, despite intense rumours about the widespread corruption permeating the PLA, leaders have never publicly broached the issue.