Young star tipped to become political commissar for PLA’s western command
The appointment of Lieutenant General Wu Shezhou would make him one of two top officers for a highly strategic region
Sources say a young PLA star is heavily favoured to become the top political commissar of the Western Theatre Command, which oversees the restive regions of Xinjiang and Tibet and handles border issues with India.
The possible appointment comes amid high-level reshuffles in the military ahead of a key, once-every-ten-years party congress this year.
Lieutenant General Wu Shezhou, until recently the army political commissar for the Central Theatre Command, was seen sitting side by side with the western theatre commander, General Zhao Zhongqi, during an exercise aired on state television on Saturday.
The report did not say what capacity Wu was attending the exercise in, but a source said he had already reported for duty at his new job.
“Lieutenant General Zhu Fuxi has recently been removed from his position of political commissar of the Western Theatre Command. The void left by Zhu will very likely be filled by Lieutenant General Wu Shezhou,” a Beijing-based military source said.
Another source close to the Southern Theatre Command said Wu had a good chance to be the top political officer in the western command.
