China's Central Military Commission (CMC) Chairman Hu Jintao (6th L, front), CMC Vice Chairman Xi Jinping (6th R, front) and other senior military officers pose with newly-promoted generals for a group photo in Beijing, capital of China, July 23, 2011. CMC conferred the rank of general on six senior military officers on Saturday, including deputy chiefs of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Sun Jianguo and Hou Shusen, deputy chief of the PLA General Political Department Jia Ting'an, the Navy's political commissar Liu Xiaojiang, commander of the Shenyang Military Area Command Zhang Youxia, and political commissar of the Lanzhou Military Area Command Li Changcai. (Xinhua/Li Gang)
Chinese Leaders Committing Suicide In Droves -- Washington Times
As Supreme Leader Xi Jinping’s anti-graft crusade penetrates the inner circles of the People’s Liberation Army, signs of internal tension and disorder among senior military leaders are becoming evident, with reliable sources reporting that a growing number of leaders have committed suicide.
On Nov. 13, Vice Admiral Ma Faxiang jumped to his demise from a 15th floor window in the PLA Navy’s Beijing headquarters.
Days earlier, Maj. Gen. Song Yuwen, deputy commissar of Jilin military district, reportedly hanged himself. He was among eight flag officers who recently had been arrested on corruption charges.
On Sept. 2, Rear Admiral Jiang Zhonghua jumped to his death from a high-rise building on a naval base in Zhejiang province.
The PLA is the world’s largest armed force and has been a pillar of the communist government. Its members enjoy enormous privileges, wealth and political clout, which has bred corruption and immunity from punishment. No communist leader in the past several decades had been able to stem military corruption until Mr. Xi last year began to go after top leaders.
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Update: China’s Anti-Corruption Campaign: Cleaning Up the PLA’s House -- Zi Yang, The Diplomat
My Comment: Losing face is deeply rooted in Chinese culture and behavior .... for these senior Generals .... by being charged for corruption and stripped of their titles and positions .... and in such a public and shameful manner .... is equivalent to being killed. For some of these former generals suicide becomes the only option .... and they do it to not only redeem their face but to protect their families in the hope that they are gone, any investigation of their family wealth will then stop.
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