Xu Caihou

In thisChinese name,thefamily nameisXu.

Xu Caihou
Từ mới hậu
Xu Caihou in October 2009
Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission
In office State Commission 13 March 2005 – 14 March 2013 Party Commission 19 September 2004 – 15 November 2012 Serving withGuo Boxiong,Cao GangchuanandXi Jinping
Chairman	Hu Jintao
Head of theGeneral Political Department of the People's Liberation Army
In office November 2002 – September 2004
Preceded by	Yu Yongbo
Succeeded by	Li Jinai
Secretary of theCommission for Discipline Inspection of the Central Military Commission
In office December 2000 – November 2002
Preceded by	Zhou Ziyu
Succeeded by	Zhang Shutian
Personal details
Born	June 1943 Wafangdian,Fengtian,Manchukuo (now Liaoning,China)
Died	March 15, 2015 (aged 71) Beijing,China
Political party	Chinese Communist Party(1971–2014, expelled)
Alma mater	Harbin Military Engineering Institute
Military service
Allegiance	People's Republic of China
Branch/service	People's Liberation Army
Years of service	1963–1966 1970–2013
Rank	General (stripped in 2014)
Commands	Jinan Military Region(1996–1999)
Chinese name
Chinese	TừMớiHậu
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xú Cáihòu Wade–Giles Hsü Ts'ai-hou IPA [ɕǔtsʰăɪhôu]

Xu Caihou(Chinese:Từ mới hậu;June 1943 – March 15, 2015) was a Chinese general in thePeople's Liberation Army(PLA) andvice chairmanof theCentral Military Commission(CMC), the country's top military council. As vice chairman of the CMC, he was one of the top ranking officers of the People's Liberation Army. He also held a seat on the 25-memberPolitburoof theChinese Communist Partybetween 2007 and 2012.

Born to a working-class family inLiaoningprovince, Xu spent much of his earlier career innortheastern China.He moved to Beijing in 1990 to become political commissar of the 16th Group Army, later serving as editor of the PLA's flagship newspaper, thePLA Daily.In 1996 Xu becamepolitical commissarof theJinan Military Region.He became vice chairman of the CMC in September 2004. He retired from office in March 2013.

In March 2014, Xu was detained and put under investigation on suspicion ofbriberyin one of the highest profile corruption investigations in PLA history. In June 2014, Xu was expelled from the Communist Party. Xu allegedly accumulated massive wealth by routinely demanding large bribes for the promotion of officers under him during his time as vice chairman of the CMC. Xu was undergoing legal proceedings and facing acourt martialbut charges were dropped after he died ofbladder cancerin March 2015.

Early life and education

Xu was born in 1943 to a working-class family in the town ofWafangdian,Liaoning province;his parents were factory workers.He attendedNo. 8 Middle Schoolin present-day Dalian. He achieved high scores on hisGaokaoexams and was admitted to the eliteHarbin Military Engineering InstituteinHarbin,where he studiedelectrical engineering.The institute was a feeder school for the army, and produced many graduates who later went on to become high-ranking officers in the PLA. In April 1966, just prior to the beginning of theCultural Revolution,Xu Caihou, along with all the students attending the institute, were mandated by the government to leave the military to take on civilian jobs.

Xu graduated in 1968, in the midst of theCultural Revolution,and wassent to the countrysideto perform manual agricultural labour for over a year on a military-run farm inTangyuan Countyin China's northeastern hinterlands.Subsequently, due to his being ofproletarianclass background (his parents were factory workers), he was allowed the 'privilege' of re-joining the army. Xu enlisted in the spring of 1970 as an officer cadet and was stationed inJilinprovince.After joining the officer corps, it took him four years to earn his first promotion.

Career

After theCultural Revolution,the Chinese leaderDeng Xiaopingwas eager to promote young university graduates as part of his military-reform program. Most of the commanding officers of the PLA at the time had only informal or middle school-level education. Beginning in 1982, Xu earned a series of quick promotions. Xu served inJilinprovince for much of his early career, generally in roles that facilitated military-political relations.

Xu became thepolitical commissarof the16th Group Armyin 1990 and was promoted to major general shortly thereafter. In an incident upon moving to Beijing for work, Xu was offered an air conditioner to cope with the city's summer heat, as a gift from a classmate in university. He reportedly refused the offer, on the grounds that he did not want to have a privilege that his superior officer, who was managing without an air conditioner, lacked.

Next, Xu served as the chief editor of thePeople's Liberation Army Dailynewspaper; he stayed on the role for just over a year, being promoted again to lieutenant general in the process. In 1996, he became the political commissar of theJinan Military Region,with a vast area of jurisdiction over military units in several eastern Chinese provinces. Xu's mission in facilitating "political affairs" in the military meant that, in practice, he was in charge of the promotion and performance evaluation of army officers.

Central Military Commission

Xu Caihou met U.S. Defense SecretaryRobert Gatesin 2009.

In 1999, Xu was promoted to the rank of General (Shang Jiang), the highest non-wartime rank in the PLA, and also joined theCentral Military Commission,in addition to taking charge of theGeneral Political Department(GPD) as its executive deputy head. In December 2000 he was named the head of theCommission for Discipline Inspection of the Central Military Commission,the military's anti-graft and disciplinary enforcement body. Xu's ascendancy in the military also resulted in his rise in the Communist Party's political hierarchy. In November 2002, he assumed full leadership over the GPD. At the party's16th National Congressin 2002, Xu became a member of theSecretariat of the Chinese Communist Party,a body in charge of the implementation of party policy.

Xu's rapid promotions at around the turn of the century were attributed to the support given to him by then-Central Military Commission ChairmanJiang Zemin.Observers believe that through Xu, Jiang continued to influence affairs in the military despite his official retirement in 2004; some retired officers simply described Xu and his partner of equal rankGuo Boxiongas "Jiang's proxy in the military."

During his term asCentral Military Commissionvice chairman, beginning in September 2004,Xu wielded significant authority over personnel decisions in the upper echelons of the military.Xu was seen by some observers as the day-to-day executive authority in the upper military ranks becauseCCP General Secretaryand Central Military ChairmanHu Jintao,nominally Xu's superior, took a relatively hands-off approach to military affairs.In 2007, he was named to the 25-memberPolitburo,being elected at the 1st Plenary Session of the17th Central Committee.Xu retired from the Politburo in 2012 and the Central Military Commission in 2013.

Corruption allegations

"I used to work for Xu Caihou... his method of doing things and choosing his people [for promotions] was, first, see how much money is involved, second, his personal affinity to them, and third, to rely on emotions and feelings. This was the worst part about his influence."

—Mj. General Yang Chunchang (March 2015)

According to numerous reports in Chinese and international media, the practice of exchanging "cash for ranks" was widespread during Xu's term as vice chairman; the practice was ostensibly common from the highest-ranking officers to the rank-and-filepetty officers.According to sources in the army, Xu's power during his CMC Vice Chairmanship was largely unchecked, they cited an example where one officer attempted to bribe Xu with ten million yuan to secure a higher rank, another officer 'outbid' the first one with twenty million yuan (~$3.2 million), so Xu annulled the arrangement with the first officer.Other accusations suggested that during Xu's term in office, an implicit set of prices were attached to each rank in the army as well as other 'privileges' such as party membership.

It was reported in March 2014 that Xu, then aged 70, had been diagnosed withbladder cancerand was undergoing extensive treatment at the301 Military Hospitalin Beijing.A corruption probe was opened at around the same time. There was speculation among some in the military that Xu would be 'spared' charges due to his ill-health.Gu Junshan,one of Xu's allegedly favorite officers, who was promoted during Xu's years in office, had already been under investigation for a wide-reaching corruption scandal involving the military's real estate assets.

Xu's supporters, pleading for clemency, said that having terminal cancer was akin to having already received the "death penalty," citing the precedent of former Vice PremierHuang Juas a case where corruption charges should not be pressed against an official in ill-health.The decision to investigate Xu was reportedly made on 15 March 2014, when Xu was taken from his hospital bed by armed policemen. His wife, daughter and former secretary were also reportedly taken into custody.

At aChinese New Yeargala for retired military officials in 2014, Xu reportedly tried to speak toXi Jinping,who is theChairman of the Central Military Commission,several times, without success.

Expulsion from the party

Xu was expelled from the Chinese Communist Party on 30 June 2014.State media described Xu's crimes as abuse of power, accepting bribes directly or via family members in exchange for promotions, and advancing the interests of those close to him through the powers vested in his office.

Xu's downfall was unexpected because corruption investigations involving mid-tier military officers are rarely publicly announced in the People's Republic of China as to not compromise national security. Such an announcement involving a high-ranking general was entirely unprecedented.Xu became the highest-ranked officer in the history of the People's Liberation Army to be investigated in corruption. During the investigation into Xu, investigators found over one tonne of cash in his Beijing home, along with precious gems, ancient artifacts, and artwork. It was said that much of the cash was still stowed away neatly in boxes marked with the names of individual officers, and that it took 12 trucks to transport all the materials confiscated from his home.

Some analysts believe that Xu's downfall signaled a consolidation of military power directly under the hands of Xi Jinping and is of greater political significance than the corruption investigation surroundingZhou Yongkang,a former member of thePolitburo Standing Committee.His downfall had been presented by the Communist Party as part of a wider campaign by Xi Jinping to eradicate corruption and reform the military.In October 2014, Xu was reported to have confessed to taking bribes, becoming the highest-profile figure in China's military to be caught up in Xi Jinping'santi-corruption campaign.

Death

Xu died on March 15, 2015, from bladder cancer and multiple organ failure at the301 Military Hospitalin Beijing at the age of 71,likely during the annual "two sessions" (Lianghui) meeting of China's legislature and legislative advisory body. There is some speculation that his death was not announced until the conclusion ofLianghuion 15 March to avoid distracting from the proceedings of the nation's pre-eminent annual political gathering.As a result of his death, military prosecutors announced that, "in accordance with legal procedures," they will not continue to pursue charges against him, despite having already filed suit in military court, but will continue work in investigating his "ill-gotten gains".