China's top army officials pledge allegiance to Xi after Zhou handed to prosecutors

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The arrest and prosecution of the former security tsar Zhou Yongkang were formally announced on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

Published: 2:00pm, 9 Dec 2014Updated: 3:18pm, 9 Dec 2014

China’s senior military officials have been quick to pledge their allegiance to President Xi Jinping after Saturday’s announcement of the arrest and prosecution of the former security tsar Zhou Yongkang.

Leading military officials were ordered to attend a seminar in Beijing yesterday to study Xi’s directives concerning the “rectification” movement – the crackdown on corruption and extravagance – within the army, said a front page report on the official PLA Daily today.

All the top officials from the People’s Liberation Army’s four general headquarters and all military commanders had been required to attend the seminar, the paper said.

Xu Caihou, former vice-chairman of China's Central Military Commission, who has been accused of corruption. Photo: Reuters

General Xu Qiliang, vice-chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission, asked senior officials at the seminar to reflect on the cases of alleged corruption involving Zhou and former CMC vice-chairman Xu Caihou, and to “digest” the symbolic meaning of the announcement of Xu Caihou’s case during last month’s army’s political conference.

Military officials needed to believe in the key points in Xi’s speeches so that they used them in their own thinking and political stances, Xu Qiliang added.