ISTANBUL

Beijing on Friday announced the expulsion of two more members of the powerful China Military Commission (CMC) among nine generals who were punished for corruption offenses, the Defense Ministry said.

This leaves the commission, which oversees the Chinese military in general, with only four members, including President Xi Jinping, its leader, down from a customary six ordinary members plus Xi.

The commission’s vice chair, Gen. He Weidong, also a member of the 24-man Politburo, as well as Adm. Miao Hua, another member of the CMC, were removed from the party, said Senior Col. Zhang Xiaogang, Defense Ministry spokesman.

Last year Gen. Li Shangfu, who was defense minister, was removed from the CMC, while his successor, Adm. Dong Jun, was not made a member of the military’s highest decision-making body.

The decision to remove the nine generals comes at a pivotal moment, just three days before the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee convenes for closed-door meetings in Beijing next week.

According to Zhang, all nine punished generals were previously dismissed from the military as Chinese authorities widened a probe into military governance as well as procurement.

He said in a statement that at least nine officers, including Gen. He, were found to have “seriously violated (Communist) Party discipline and were suspected of serious duty-related crimes involving an extremely large amount of money, of an extremely serious nature and with extremely detrimental consequences.”

The statement added the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee has “decided to expel these individuals from the Party and transfer the suspected crimes to military procuratorates for review and prosecution.”

'Severe punishment demonstrates unwavering fight against corruption'

Gen. He, the CMC vice chair, is the first serving member of the Politburo, China’s highest decision-making body, to face a graft investigation.

Gen. Zhang Youxia, Gen. Zhang Shengmin, Gen. Liu Zhenli are the three other currently serving members, with Zhang also serving as vice chair.

While Gen. Miao was removed from the CMC this June, Gen. He has not been seen in public since March.

Miao was an admiral in the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) Navy and had been serving as director of the CMC’s political department.

He was last seen in public last October, when he attended the 70th anniversary celebrations of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

Others expelled from the party include He Hongjun, former executive deputy director of the CMC Political Work Department; Wang Xiubin, former executive deputy director of the CMC Joint Operations Command Center; Lin Xiangyang, former commander of the PLA Eastern Theater Command; Qin Shutong, former PLA political commissar; Yuan Huazhi, former PLA Navy political commissar; Wang Houbin, former commander of the PLA Rocket Force; and Wang Chunning, former commander of the People's Armed Police Force.

“The severe punishment” of the accused military officials “once again demonstrates the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission's unwavering resolve to persevere in the fight against corruption, underscoring their unwavering commitment to leaving no place for corrupt elements to hide in the military,” said the ministry.