President criticises the army over poor discipline
President Hu Jintao told leaders of the People's Liberation Army to 'strengthen military discipline' and make sure the army stays absolutely loyal to the Communist Party as China enters a year of harsh economic reality and sensitive anniversaries.
In a meeting with the top brass of the Central Military Committee - the supreme command unit of the PLA of which Mr Hu is the chairman - he criticised the army for poor discipline and told his generals to make sure the military always followed the orders of the party, Xinhua reported.
'We must realise there are shortcomings in our work ... Sometimes we don't have comprehensive understanding of the latest development. We need to strengthen our military discipline. At various levels, [some officials] have been lax in enforcing discipline ... We must take these issues seriously and find solutions,' he was quoted by Xinhua as saying.
He asked the PLA generals to 'step up political education' - a catchword when the party demands greater loyalty from the military.
'We should unify the thinking of all soldiers and officials to the same direction as the central authorities. We must make sure the army will follow the instruction of the CMC and the Communist Party at any time, under any circumstances,' Mr Hu said. 'We must always be sure of the army's stability and its unity.'
All top generals of the PLA attended the meeting, which was held at an unspecified date. China's Central Television reported the event as the top news at its evening news programme last night.
