Education and Technology Researcher

Tong Chun, a former commander of the Chinese navy, was appointed defense minister in December 2023, replacing Li Xiangfu, who was ousted shortly after taking office seven months later. 

Then, according to state-run CCTV, Li Xiangfu was expelled from the Chinese Communist Party on suspicion of corruption and charged with accepting large sums of money in bribes. Wei Fenger, who succeeded Lee Hsien Loong, was also charged with corruption and expelled from the same Communist Party.

Since taking office more than ten years ago, Xi has led a campaign to eradicate large-scale corruption in the civil service and expand the military. But opponents of Xi Jinping see Xi Jinping's campaign to crack down on corruption as a way to eliminate his political rivals. In early November, Xi Jinping ordered the army to launch an investigation into corruption and malpractice among officials and soldiers. According to US officials quoted by Bloomberg, the strengthening of the anti-corruption campaign was driven in part by fears that it would affect the army's ability to wage war.

Credit: www.rfi.fr.kh