After the downfall of Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, and Liu Zhenli, chief of staff of the Joint Staff Department, the official newspaper of the Military Commission, PLA Daily, published another article saying that resolutely investigating and punishing Zhang Youxia, Liu Zhenli and other corrupt elements squeezes out the water from combat effectiveness building and injects strong impetus into the cause of building a strong military.
On Monday (February 2), PLA Daily published a commentator article on its front page titled "Advance Courageously with a Strong Sense of Mission and Responsibility," stating that the steps of self-revolution never cease and that the process of strengthening the military is unstoppable. Resolutely investigating and punishing Zhang Youxia, Liu Zhenli and other corrupt elements removes the tigers and stumbling blocks that hinder the cause, squeezes out the water from combat effectiveness building, stirs up fighting spirit, and injects strong impetus into the development of the cause of building a strong military.
The article says that PLA officers and soldiers should unify their thoughts and actions with the major decisions and deployments of the CPC Central Committee, the Central Military Commission, and Chairman Xi Jinping; deeply understand the general trend that the more thoroughly anti-corruption is carried out, the more solid the foundation for strengthening the military; recognize the new atmosphere brought by in-depth advancement of political rectification and discipline inspection and anti-corruption, and focus all their thoughts and energies on building a strong military and winning battles, using practical actions to fulfill their loyalty to the Party.
The article writes that the PLA is an army under the absolute leadership of the Communist Party of China and is the steel Great Wall of the Party and the country. "With Chairman Xi steering the ship and Xi Jinping's Thought on Strengthening the Military as a scientific guide, it has always been the source of strength, direction, and future for the cause of building a strong military and is the most fundamental political guarantee."
The article writes that the PLA is an army under the absolute leadership of the Communist Party of China and is the steel Great Wall of the Party and the country. "With Chairman Xi steering the ship and Xi Jinping's Thought on Strengthening the Military as a scientific guide, it has always been the source of strength, direction, and future for the cause of building a strong military and is the most fundamental political guarantee."
The article proposes that PLA officers and soldiers should forge political loyalty, strengthen faith and confidence, dare to take responsibility and make accomplishments, do every job well and complete every task based on their posts and duties. Political army-building should be deepened, using Xi Jinping Thought to arm the mind, guide practice, and promote work, fully implement the strategy of political army-building in the new era, continue to deepen political rectification, unswervingly rectify work style, enforce discipline, and fight corruption, and provide strong political guarantees for the cause of building a strong military in the new era.
The article says it is necessary to accelerate the transformation and construction of the troops, advance national defense and military modernization with high quality, comprehensively strengthen training for combat readiness, uphold combat effectiveness as the one and only fundamental standard, closely follow the changes in war, technology, and adversaries, steadily advance realistic military training, accelerate the building of advanced combat effectiveness, and be ready to fight and win at any time.
The article also emphasizes that Party-member officers and especially high-ranking cadres in the military should use those investigated for corruption as negative examples, establish and practice a correct view of achievements, strictly safeguard ideological defenses, limits of authority, lines of discipline and law, and boundaries of family conduct, and take practical, pragmatic, responsible, and self-disciplined actions to do their work, carry out their undertakings, and lead their troops. Their strong style and image should inspire and drive the troops.
The article also emphasizes that Party-member officers and especially high-ranking cadres in the military should use those investigated for corruption as negative examples, establish and practice a correct view of achievements, strictly safeguard ideological defenses, limits of authority, lines of discipline and law, and boundaries of family conduct, and take practical, pragmatic, responsible, and self-disciplined actions to do their work, carry out their undertakings, and lead their troops. Their strong style and image should inspire and drive the troops.
Previously, on Sunday (February 1), PLA Daily's front page commentator's article said that severely investigating Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli demonstrated the CPC's clear stance on resolutely defending the political character of the military and reflected its determination and will to resolutely fight and win the campaign, enduring battle, and general battle against corruption in the military. It helps to create a steadily stricter atmosphere for comprehensive rule of the Party with discipline being enforced more and more strictly over time, and will further set things right politically, eliminate poison and drawbacks ideologically, cleanse and regenerate organizationally, and consolidate and deepen the results of political rectification.
On Saturday (January 31), the front-page commentator's article said the investigation of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli was a major victory in the anti-corruption struggle, which is significant for eradicating the roots of poisonous influence in the military and achieving rebirth. The article called on all service members to maintain a high degree of unity with the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at the core in terms of ideology, politics, and actions, and to firmly believe in the ultimate victory of anti-corruption and in the realization of a strong military.
On Friday (January 30), PLA Daily published an article saying that the PLA is an armed group for the execution of the Party's political tasks, and corruption particularly cannot persist in the military. The more anti-corruption there is in the military, the stronger, purer, and more combat effective it becomes.
On January 24, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense announced that Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli are suspected of severe disciplinary and legal violations. After research by the CPC Central Committee, it was decided to file a case and investigate both. Among this Central Military Commission, only the top leader, Xi Jinping, and Zhang Shengmin, who was added as vice chairman last year, remain in office.