25 January 2018.
State run Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday that former chief of joint staff Fang Fenghui was suspected of taking and giving bribes and would be handed over to military prosecutors. He was once a member of the powerful Central Military Commission(CMC). Reporting of Fang’s investigation was delayed due the suicide of Zhang Yang, which had an impact on army’s moral. Fang was probably close to President Xi Jinping because he accompanied Xi during his visit to the US for a meeting with Donald Trump in April last year.
Xinhua reported on 28 November 2017 that General Zhang Yang hanged himself while being held under detention, pending an investigation on corruption charges.
Fang and Zhang had been working together in the CMC. Fang was taken into custody on the day Zhang committed suicide. Fang and Zhang had a meteoric rise in the military by bribing all the way,
Xinhua’s report in November confirmed Zhang had links to Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou, senior military officers investigated for buying and selling military ranks. Guo was sentenced for life in July 2016 and Xu died of cancer in 2015. It was reported that Guo played a significant role in promoting Fang.
According to South China Morning Post, an unconfirmed source said that Zhang had given Guo more than $ 3.7 million. This is a staggering sum. He got all this money by taking bribes from junior officers and promoting them. This is a merry-go-round.
Both Guo and Xu along with Fang and Zhang were allies of former president Jiang Zemin. Hong Kong magazine Qian Shao, reported that Fang and Zhang were hatching a military coup against President Xi. This is unbelievable, but who knows?
General Li Zuocheng took over the position of Fang and Admiral Miao Hua took over the role of Zhang, even before they were charged.
