The Chinese Communist Party has expelled nine of its generals as part of one of the largest crackdowns in recent decades.
In a statement, China’s Ministry of Defence said the nine men were suspected of financial crimes.
Three of them were senior generals who held key decision-making roles within the Central Committee. These three individuals have also been dismissed from the military.
While the official statement cited corruption as the reason for their removal, experts suggest it may in fact be part of an internal purge, coming as the Central Party prepares to outline the country’s economic development plan.
The Ministry of Defence stated that the nine senior officers had “seriously violated party discipline and were suspected of serious duty-related crimes involving an extremely large amount of money, of extremely serious nature, and with extremely detrimental consequences.“
