It would have come into conflict with Xi Jinping. The high-ranking military man is accused of corruption and of having wanted to create his own faction within the Communist Party. For the well-known dissident Wei Jingsheng, Xi cracked down on Liu for his ideas on the “nationalization” of the Armed Forces. It is not the first time that the “old guard” has attacked the supreme leader.
Beijing () – A court sentenced retired air force general Liu Yazhou to death with a suspended sentence. The sentence dates from February 2022, but the official media only broke the news a few days ago. Liu is a leading figure on the national political scene and the son-in-law of former President Li Xiannian.
Ming Pao affirms that the judges sentenced the soldier because he confronted Xi Jinping. Liu has often criticized China’s belligerent stance on Taiwan. Chinese sources report that he has been accused of “economic corruption” and of wanting to create his own “faction” within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
During Xi’s rule, this second charge has been used by the authorities to beat up several important officials. In September last year, a court sentenced former Vice Minister of Public Security Sun Lijun to life imprisonment “for seriously damaging Party unity.” The most serious accusation, however, is that of leading a circle of “disloyal” political leaders to Xi, including former Justice Minister Fu Zhenghua, also sentenced to life imprisonment.
As Wei Jingsheng, the “father of democracy” in China and currently in exile in the US, commented in the RFA, General Liu is very popular among the military and in Chinese society. Official of “Confucian” orientation, he is also a learned man and admirer of Christianity.
According to Wei, accusation of corruption is Xi’s usual tactic to eliminate his political opponents. The well-known activist points out that the general’s ideas about Christianity could not have influenced too much the negative opinion of the supreme leader: throughout its history, China has had Christian generals, such as Feng Yuxiang.
Wei is convinced that Xi wanted to eliminate Liu because of his ideas on the “nationalization” of the Armed Forces. Translation: the former general wants to prevent the army from being a private instrument of the leader on duty.
Before the XX Party Congress that took place in October last year, the “old guard” tried to influence the internal political debate in clear opposition to the president, who nevertheless achieved a historic third term in power afterward.
In a video message circulated since mid-September and later censored, Song Ping, 105, stated that the policy of reform and opening up that Deng Xiaoping inaugurated 40 years ago “is the only path that ensures development and China’s prosperity, and ensures that the Chinese dream can be realized.”
Song, a former member of the Politburo Standing Committee under Deng, slyly used the same words Xi said in the past, which may have saved him from retaliation, unlike Liu.
