Exclusive | Chinese military’s rising star falls back to earth ‘over links to disgraced senior commanders and daughter’s marriage to Frenchman’
Former rising star Cai Yingting is demoted by eight grades with sources blaming doubts about his loyalty and failure to disclose foreign family ties
A former rising star of the Chinese military has been demoted by eight grades to become a battalion commander, according to several independent sources close to the military.
General Cai Yingting, a former president of the Academy of Military Science and the deputy chief of general staff before President Xi Jinping started overhauling the military, has been demoted from the Grade 2 post of “military leader” to the Grade 10 position of “battalion leader”, according to several sources close to the People’s Liberation Army.
Possible reasons for his downfall included his daughter’s marriage to a Frenchman – which he failed to report through the proper channels – and his association with now disgraced senior commanders.
The Central Military Commission, headed by Xi, has not made any public announcements but news of Cai’s demotion started circulating in military circles on Sunday.
Cai retired from the military academy last year, two years before he reached the PLA’s maximum retirement age. Under normal circumstances he would have kept his senior ranking after retiring from the academy.