Following the official announcement of PLA General Zhang Youxia's (張又俠) downfall last Saturday, speculation has mounted steadily. After Wednesday's Taiwan Affairs Office press conference, Defense Ministry spokesman Jiang Bin addressed key questions about Zhang's arrest at Thursday's mainland defense briefing. However, the Defense Ministry's official website made no mention of the Zhang Youxia incident in its written summary of the press conference.
At Thursday's routine Defense Ministry briefing, Western media focused heavily on the aftermath of Zhang Youxia's downfall and whether the PLA would continue working-level communications with the US military. Zhang had previously led delegations to meet with senior US military officials, and former Pentagon official Drew Thompson had direct contact with him. Even former US Secretary of State Sullivan expressed shock at Zhang's arrest.
The mainland Defense Ministry appears to project two different attitudes toward the Zhang Youxia affair. Spokesman Jiang Bin's (蔣斌)remarks suggest Zhang was merely a member of the Communist Party organization, lacking the significant influence over China's military that outsiders attributed to him.
Jiang stated that "the more the People's Army fights corruption, the stronger, purer, and more combat-ready it becomes." Regarding the next Central Military Commission meeting and replacement candidates, Jiang declared "this is a military secret of the national army."
Responding to Wall Street Journal reports that Zhang leaked secrets to the United States, Jiang "firmly opposed smears against China's anti-corruption efforts" and stated that "the Chinese military has always maintained an open and cooperative approach and will continue dialogue and exchanges with militaries of all countries."
Since the PLA remains a largely closed organization, outsiders can only analyze abnormal high-level changes through corruption cases, making such speculation unsurprising.
Notably, overseas reports claim former PLA General Logistics Department chief Liao Xilong died on January 23. Liao was considered one of Zhang Youxia's political patrons, and Zhang's downfall was announced the day after Liao's death. Beijing political observer Guo Jun noted that "premature announcement of Liao Xilong's death could affect military morale, but delaying the announcement somewhat for traditional and protocol reasons would not be unusual." State broadcaster CCTV's evening news simultaneously reported the list of senior officials sending wreaths, showing footage of their signed arrangements, including a wreath signed by Hu Jintao.
