Zhang, one of two vice-chairmen of the powerful Central Military Commission, is the latest figure to be hit by a long-running “purge” of military officials.
Analysts believe that these “purges” are aimed at reforming the military, as well as ensuring loyalty to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who also chairs the military commission. They are part of a wider anti-corruption campaign that has fined more than 200,000 officials since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012.
Another member of the commission, Liu Zhenli, is also under investigation by the Chinese Communist Party, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement. Liu is the chief of staff of the Joint Staff Commission, the highest military body in China.
The statement did not contain details of the alleged violations.
Zhang, 75 years old, joined the People’s Liberation Army in 1968 and is a general in the ground forces.
Last October, the Communist Party expelled the commission’s second vice chairman, He Weidong, and replaced him with commission member Zhang Shengmin, reports AP.
(Vijesti.ba / Fena)
