President moves to rein in military

Defense

New Member
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

By Benjamin Kang Lim
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese President Hu Jintao is using a carrot-and-stick approach to try to rein in recalcitrant generals and further consolidate power, military and political sources and analysts said.

Hu has yet to assume full control of the People's Liberation Army after taking over the military in 2004 and has been unsettled by perceived challenges to his legitimacy by outspoken generals, especially "princelings" who boast privileged family backgrounds, they said.

With corruption widespread, Hu singled out and sacked Wang Shouye as navy deputy commander in what one former Communist Party official said was a warning to unsubmissive generals.

"It's to kill the chicken and scare the monkey," the former party official told Reuters, quoting a Chinese saying.

In a country where the party demands absolute obedience from the military, several generals have unceremoniously stood out by speaking their minds.

Hu was upset when Lieutenant-General Liu Yazhou, a son-in-law of the late president Li Xiannian, and eight other officers called for political reform in an open letter last year.

Major-General Zhu Chenghu, said to be a grandson of the late parliament chief and Long March veteran Zhu De, told reporters last year China could use nuclear weapons against the United States in the event of a U.S. attack over self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own.

Lieutenant-General Wang Zhiyuan, a son of China's late top negotiator with Taiwan Wang Daohan, told a Beijing-funded Hong Kong newspaper in March that China will develop an aircraft carrier group, fuelling fears of a Chinese military build-up.

"The PLA is not very obedient," a source with ties to the leadership said. "This was unthinkable during Mao's days."

The outspoken generals have dented Hu's efforts to control the military and complicated China's diplomacy, in particular with Washington, which has been scrutinising the PLA.

As an inducement, Hu, who replaced Jiang Zemin as Communist Party chief in 2002 and president in 2003, has promoted five princeling generals to senior posts in a bid to win them over.

But Hu has also passed over many officers for promotion to full general rank even though they were eligible for elevation, one military source said.

Hu has promoted 12 to the status of four-star general, or one-third of the total. Only one is a princeling.

About 1,000 of the PLA's top brass will be audited this year, a move analysts say is much about curbing corruption as it is about taking out defiant generals.

Corruption was virtually snuffed out in the years after the Communists swept to power in 1949, but has staged a comeback in the wake of market-oriented reforms over the past two decades.

The rivalry between Hu and princelings -- the children of the country's top incumbent, retired or late leaders and their spouses -- is not new.

Princelings emerged from political wilderness after the chaotic Cultural Revolution ended in 1976, but lost out to "sons of the people" in a struggle in the 1980s for the leadership of the Communist Youth League, Hu's power base.

"In their heart of hearts, princelings look down on the sons of the people," said Zhang Zuhua, a former Youth League official.
 

tphuang

Lieutenant General
Staff member
Super Moderator
VIP Professional
Registered Member
This is definitely a huge issue inside of China. It will be interesting to see whether or not Hu can eventually rein on these guys. Personally, I'd much rather see a guy rising from the grass root level taking the leadership of a country rather than a group of general who got their power passed down from their parents.
 

Roger604

Senior Member
Exactly, tphuang! Corruption and nepotism in government bureaucracy.... especially in something as vital as national defense.... is more dangerous to China than anything else. Corruption must be fought. Good thing the military is getting paid much better these days.

That said, it's not a bad thing at all for Chairman Hu to listen to his generals. After all they are the experts. But I am certain that he is competent enough to be able to tell when the generals are giving him advice that serves the people of China and when the generals are giving him advice that only lines their own pockets.
 

RavenWing278

Junior Member
this article might be of interest to some of you guys. i was looking around on the internet for PLA pay rises n found this:


Starting July 1 the Chinese army doubled the salary for members of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), initiating the largest wage raise in the history of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The increase has been most pronounced for middle and low level military offices. It is believed that the Party is taking this action as a means to maintain loyalty among an increasingly dissatisfied populace.

After the army reported a salary increase, the Communist Regime's central headquarters in Beijing also promised to raise the income of government workers. The two groups, making up millions of people, account for those who are in direct service to the communist authorities.

The basic salary for officers and soldiers was nearly doubled. Raises according to position were also doubled while raises according to rank increased by three times. The new raises create a sharper delineation between what officers in the military and those in the civil sector can be expected to earn.

Wages as a whole have quadrupled for military personnel over the past five years. On top of Hu Jintao's July increase, former president Jiang Zemin raised the salary for servicemen by three to four times within three years.

Granting Military Ranks in Large Quantities

Mr. Chen Pokong, editor and critic for the website hybsl.cn, has also pointed out that recent communist Party leaders have been the awarding ranks to gain loyalty among the military. When Jiang Zemin was the chairman of the Military Commission, he promoted a total of 79 generals. The second day after taking over as chairman of the Military Commission, Hu Jintao suddenly promoted two officers. During the period of raising salaries, Hu also promoted ten more generals. Hu wants to replace those generals put in place by Jiang so he can be sure his generals are loyal to him.

Mr. Lin Zhengyang, head of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), said that the CCP tries to hold on to servicemen through corrupt means. Zhengyang said they give out as many high military ranks as possible, creating a rank inflation among military officers. He said that it has become so common that people in China are no longer fooled.

Rebellion and Revenge

Li Zhengyang said that the CCP would only pay someone if it needs something from him. The CCP has been raising the military's salary because it feels it has no other choice. The party is very worried, added Zhengyang, because there have been a series of transportation mishaps. Airplanes and ships have been getting into accidents that some believe are not accidental.

In June, a KJ-2000—a large early warning airplane—crashed into a mountain area when flying over Guangde County, Anhui Province. The 40 military experts and two major generals on board all died. This was the beginning of a series of airplane crashes, killing those on board. Some speculate that this is the revenge by soldiers who were transferred to civilian work prior to the July 1 wage increase, making them ineligible for the raise. It is estimated that these types of "accidents" will continue to occur.

In the 1960s, soldiers were disgruntled, but what is happening today is flat out revenge. Into the mid 1990s, it was uncommon for veterans to appeal for unawarded benefits. The majority of those appealing to the Beijing government were those who wanted compensation for harm they suffered during the Cultural Revolution. Now, ten years later, it is not uncommon to find groups of several thousand appealing together. Since soldiers have been transferred to civilian positions, rebellion is starting to surface

The Motivation Behind the Salary Increases

Chen Pokong has pointed out that the reason the CCP is raising military salaries is to maintain control. In order to accomplish this goal it must have the loyalty of the military. Historically, the communist party has relied on violence to maintain power. Only after soldiers' hearts are firmly under the control of the communist regime can the Party's dictatorial rule be stabilized. Mass protests and strikes continue and become more intensive in the country. Recently, the number of such protests has reached as high as 80,000 yearly. Control and stability have become increasingly sought after by the party, and increasingly illusive. In its search for security, according to Pokong, the communist regime is trying to imbed itself in the military.

'Being Bought off'

Mr. Wu Fan, chief editor of China Affairs, a U.S.-based internet magazine, pointed out the Party's plot is quite transparent to the majority of servicemen in the Chinese military and to the greater public as well. They understand that they are being bought off. In their hearts they know that their obligation is to protect the people and land of China, not to do the CCP's dirty work. Wu said that the salary increases would only further displease the veterans. There are millions of veterans in China; several million of them are retired officers. Their economic situations are by no means stable.

He said that the people can sense that the military is becoming more and more unstable—the rapid, unjustified raises are just one more symptom of the greater illness.

Voices From inside the Military

An article written by an anonymous soldier was published in a Chinese newspaper last month entitled, "How to Disintegrate the CCP." It called for a veritable coup d'etat against the CCP regime. It called for an end to military violence and violent control of the people and a beginning of peaceful reform.

The author also called on the Chinese people to widely spread the Epoch Times ' Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party , a book that details the crimes of the CCP since it took over rule of China.

Wu Fan credits The Nine Commentaries with catalyzing the new movement to replace the CCP regime with a legitimate democracy. Wu, along with several of his colleagues, have created The Future China Forum—an open, round table discussion about the future of China after the CCP falls.

Gao Dawei, director of the Global Center for Quitting the CCP, said that The Nine Commentaries has, "successfully dispelled the Chinese communist culture of brainwashing and propaganda. In its place are arising Chinese people that are able to think clearly about its future."

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
 

Player 0

Junior Member
^You know, before i got to the last section, i thought this article held some weight, despite the fragrent use of 'anonymous sources', however when i found the link was epoch times, and i saw that it was plugging FLG material.

Well i think you should find a more reliable source, something that clearly show itself being so strongly anti-communist near the end.

And now that i really think about it, the whole soldiers commiting suicide and purposely crashing planes and killing themselves and many others out of spite for the government, i'm very sorry, but that is just incredibly stupid, i mean really that is just the assinine thing i've ever heard, moronic doesn't even begin to describe this crap, but then again its FLG so what do you expect.
 
Last edited:

Roger604

Senior Member
Player 0 said:
^You know, before i got to the last section, i thought this article held some weight, despite the fragrent use of 'anonymous sources', however when i found the link was epoch times, and i saw that it was plugging FLG material.

Well i think you should find a more reliable source, something that clearly show itself being so strongly anti-communist near the end.

And now that i really think about it, the whole soldiers commiting suicide and purposely crashing planes and killing themselves and many others out of spite for the government, i'm very sorry, but that is just incredibly stupid, i mean really that is just the assinine thing i've ever heard, moronic doesn't even begin to describe this crap, but then again its FLG so what do you expect.


:coffee: Standard Epoch Times stuff..... anybody hear that Hu Jintao is actually an alien sent from Mars to persecute the Chinese people? I hear there are a lot of bad communists on the Red Planet.
 

Violet Oboe

Junior Member
The article is standard Epoch Times/ Falun Dafa propaganda crap indeed. I am still amused about their infantile campaign against CPC where they maintained that millions of dissapointed party members burned their little red book in recent years. :roll:

Interestingly these articles reveal a high degree of ignorance and dilettantism; (e.g. the author seems not to be aware about PAP´s role and obviously a coup leading general wants foremost to introduce western liberal democracy:roll: ). Probably most Falun Dafa people live in exile for too long and almost all of them possess only a low level of education.

After all you have to a real nobrainer believing in fatcats Li Hongzhi (李洪志) religion of selfdeception. Li actually maintains that the whole universe exists because of himself and without his presence cosmos would disintegrate. Being a true believer you will be able flying directly to paradise but unfourtunately a fat bunch of dollar bills will have flown to Li´s Brooklyn based coffers before that takes place. :D
 
Last edited:

MIGleader

Banned Idiot
This article actually had me going for a while until i reached the part when it talked about the CCP disitagrating...then I checked the source. The last section seems to have fictional characters and fictional groups altogther. theres plenty of fact errors, such as the kj-2000 reference. But a "seiries of plane crashes?":roll: c'mon
 

yoda9999

New Member
I guess Hu better get rid of these princelings, nepotism and loud mouth generals. None of that helps the military anyways.
 

Tassadar

New Member
Registered Member
Well, I don't know about the loud mouth general part. I guess it's because I don't really have a great vision that what a general should do and what he/she should not do. In my opinion, as long as the loud mouth give out some useful advice, it should not be shut up, just like everyone else.

I know it's a litte bit off-topic. However, I have to say that the stragetagy FLG employs is plain stupid. Let's suppose CCP is as absolutely authoraian as the most right wing western media describes, well, I said suppose, FLG is no way better than CCP judging by its way of demonization and non-rational attack.
 
Top