It is a position that wields more real power than China’s defence minister, who is mostly the public face of the military and is responsible for domestic defence education and military diplomacy.
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‘No one is safe’: China purges record number of ‘tiger’ officials in 2023
‘No one is safe’: China purges record number of ‘tiger’ officials in 2023
Born in 1955, Miao became China’s youngest serving general when he was promoted in 2015. A year later, Miao, then the political commissar of the PLA Navy, proudly shared his demands for the naval forces in an interview with Outlook (Liaowang) magazine, which is affiliated with state news agency Xinhua. “Eliminate seeking personal gain; eliminate hiring people in violation of regulations,” he said.
Miao’s is the latest case in a wave of anti-corruption operations at the PLA over the past two years that has brought down two former defence ministers and dozens of generals. The vast majority of them worked in the military’s procurement sector or in the PLA’s Rocket Force, its nuclear army.
A number of defence industry executives have also been implicated.
