Graft fight sees PLA prosecutor Li Xiaofeng promoted

The PLA's chief prosecutor has been promoted in a move one observer said would boost efforts to fight military graft and was a reward for his role in handling the case of Xu Caihou, the disgraced former top general.

A programme aired by China Central Television on Friday showed footage of Major General Li Xiaofeng attending a People's Liberation Army General Political Department work meeting last Wednesday.

The 60-year-old was shown wearing a uniform that indicated he had been promoted to deputy commander of military command. Local media said Li was probably promoted prior to Army Day on August 1, and noted that his tenure had been extended by three years, as he had been expected to retire at 60 in line with military convention.

Xu, former vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, the army's supreme command, was put under investigation in March and expelled from the Communist Party in June.

Last month military prosecutors announced that Xu had confessed to taking "extremely large" bribes through family members to help people gain promotions. Xu was stripped of his military title and is expected to be indicted soon on bribery charges.

President Xi Jinping has called on the military to reflect on discipline and uphold its revolutionary tradition in the wake of the Xu scandal.

Professor Ni Lexiong, a Shanghai-based military observer, believed Li was rewarded for his work in prosecuting Xu.

"Li did a great job in netting the head of the PLA, so of course he would be rewarded," Ni said.

He believed the promotion would enhance Li's authority and give him more power to curb corruption within the military.

Li, a Jiangsu native, joined the Shenyang Military Area Command in 1972 as a soldier. He was later promoted to platoon leader and then transferred to the military's judicial department, where he served as a military judge.