"On April 2, while Donald Trump was battering the world with tariffs, high-ranking officers of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), dressed in camouflage uniforms and armed with shovels, were digging in the earth during a voluntary reforestation day in Beijing. The activity, which has been carried out since the 1980s, included top leaders from the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC, the highest authority over the armed forces) and other Communist Party officials."
"Those who follow the capricious twists and turns of Chinese politics immediately noticed the absence of General He Weidong, the PLA's second-in-command. He, who was then second vice chairman of the CMC and one of the 24 members of the Politburo, the Communist Party's top decision-making body, last appeared in public on March 11. Shortly before, he had delivered a speech on the need to intensify the fight against corruption within the PLA."
High-ranking People's Liberation Army officers participated in a voluntary reforestation event in Beijing, a ceremony attended by Central Military Commission leaders and Communist Party officials since the 1980s. General He Weidong, then second vice chairman of the CMC and a Politburo member, was notably absent after last appearing publicly on March 11 following a speech calling for intensified anti-corruption efforts within the PLA. He was a close ally of Xi Jinping and helped plan live-fire exercises around Taiwan after Nancy Pelosi's 2022 visit to Taipei. On October 17, the Ministry of Defense expelled He and eight other senior officers, accusing them of corruption, marking the highest-ranking dismissal since 1976. A pattern has intensified since 2023: officers vanish from public view and later face corruption announcements.
Read at english.elpais.com
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