China expels generals from Communist Party over corruption – Report

China has expelled two high-ranking generals, Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, from the Communist Party over corruption allegations. According to Hong Kong Free Press, Zhang Youxia was a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, making him China's highest-ranked general, while Liu Zhenli was a member of the commission and chief of staff of its Joint Staff Department.

The expulsions were announced after an investigation found that Zhang and Liu had "become disloyal to the Party… and crossed red lines" by engaging in a list of offences including corruption, involving "exceptionally large sums of money", as reported by Xinhua, as cited by Hong Kong Free Press and Channel News Asia. The Korea Times reported that they were accused of disloyalty, corruption, dereliction of duty, and other serious disciplinary violations.

The investigation and subsequent expulsion of Zhang and Liu fit into the sweeping anti-graft drive that has defined President Xi Jinping's time in power, as noted by Hong Kong Free Press. Probes into Zhang and Liu were announced in January, and they were removed from the state Central Military Commission in late August, according to The Korea Times.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch, Hong Kong Free Press, The Korea Times, Channel News Asia, Free Malaysia Today — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.