NewChina’s army must strictly obey Xi Jinping’s orders: PLA Daily
Military newspaper's exhortation suggests dissent within the ranks over the president's far-reaching anti-corruption campaign
China’s military must “resolutely obey” President Xi Jinping’s orders, says a commentary on the PLA Daily’s website, in a sign that Xi is seeking to quell possible dissent as his anti-corruption campaign penetrates deeper into the armed forces.
“Adherence to the Party’s absolute leadership is a founding principal of the army,” read the commentary published on Wednesday on the website of the People’s Liberation Army.
All officers and soldiers should “resolutely obey” the Communist Party and Central Military Commission chairman’s orders. Xi heads both the party and the commission, the highest military body.
The publication comes two weeks after 16 PLA generals were put under graft investigation as Xi seeks to root out corruption that he says undermines the military’s combat readiness.
“There must have been a lot of grumbling in the PLA,” said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, director of government and international studies at Hong Kong Baptist University. “It underscores that there must have been some friction between Xi and some leaders. Otherwise they wouldn’t need a frontpage commentary.”
Representatives of the military participated for the first time in the annual plenary session of the party’s top disciplinary agency, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, earlier this month, according to the People’s Daily’s WeChat account.