A former mainland military leader was instrumental in promoting a corrupt provincial party leader who was recently kicked out of the Communist Party for taking huge bribes, a Hong Kong-based human rights group said yesterday.
General Zhang Wannian , 79, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission between 1995 and 2003, was the uncle of former Shandong provincial deputy party secretary Du Shicheng , according to the Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy. The group cited one of General Zhang's relatives surnamed Chen as saying that Du was the son of one of General Zhang's sisters.