Xu Caihou (; June 1943 – March 15, 2015) was a Chinese general in the
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
(PLA) and vice-chairman of the
Central 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-member
Politburo
A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states.
Names
The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...
of the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
between 2007 and 2012.
Born to a working-class family in
Liaoning
Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...
province, Xu spent much of his earlier career in
northeastern China
Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of t ...
. 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, the ''
PLA Daily
The ''People's Liberation Army Daily'' (), or ''PLA Daily'' for short, is the official newspaper of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA). Institutionally, the ''PLA Daily'' is the mouthpiece of and speaks for the Central Military Commission ...
''. In 1996 Xu became
political commissar of the
Jinan Military Region
The Jinan Military Region was a PLA Military Region located in the east of the People's Republic of China, covering the Shandong and Henan Provinces, which also formed military districts. It appears that Yang Dezhi was one of the first commander ...
. He became vice-chairman of the CMC in September 2004. He retired from office in March 2013.
Xu was detained and put under investigation on suspicion of bribery in March 2014, in one of the highest profile corruption investigations in PLA history, and was expelled from the Communist Party in June 2014. 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 a
court martial
A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
but charges were dropped after he died of
bladder cancer
Bladder cancer is any of several types of cancer arising from the tissues of the urinary bladder. Symptoms include blood in the urine, pain with urination, and low back pain. It is caused when epithelial cells that line the bladder become mali ...
in March 2015.
Early life and education
Xu was born in 1943 to a working-class family in the town of
Wafangdian
Wafangdian (), formerly Fuhsien (Fuxian) or Fu County (), is one of the two "northern county-level city, county-level cities", the other being Zhuanghe, under the administration of Dalian, located in the south of Liaoning province, China. The ci ...
,
Liaoning province
Liaoning () is a coastal provinces of China, province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and i ...
; his parents were factory workers.
He attended
No. 8 Middle School in present-day Dalian. He achieved high scores on his ''Gaokao'' exams and was admitted to the elite
Harbin Military Engineering Institute
Harbin Engineering University (HEU; ) was founded in 1953 in Harbin, China. It offers more than 150-degree programs, 48 of which are conducted in English.
Designated a Double First Class University and a former Project 211 university, HEU is ...
in
Harbin
Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...
, where he studied
electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
. 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 the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
, 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 the ]Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
, and was sent to the countryside to perform manual agricultural labour for over a year on a military-run farm in Tangyuan County
Tangyuan County () is a county in the east of Heilongjiang province, China. It is the westernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Jiamusi.
Administrative divisions
Tangyuan County is divided into 4 towns and 6 townships.
...
in China's northeastern hinterlands.[ Subsequently, due to his being of ]proletarian
The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose only possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian. Marxist philoso ...
class 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 in Jilin
Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...
province.[ After joining the officer corps, it took him four years to earn his first promotion.][
]
Career
After the Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
, the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...
was 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 in Jilin
Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...
province for much of his early career, generally in roles that facilitated military-political relations.
Xu became the political commissar of the 16th Group Army
The 78th Group Army (), is a military formation of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Ground Forces (PLAGF). The 78th Group Army is one of twelve total group armies of the PLAGF, the largest echelon of ground forces in the People's Republic of ...
in 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 the '']People's Liberation Army Daily
The ''People's Liberation Army Daily'' (), or ''PLA Daily'' for short, is the official newspaper of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA). Institutionally, the ''PLA Daily'' is the mouthpiece of and speaks for the Central Military Commission ...
'' newspaper; 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 the Jinan Military Region
The Jinan Military Region was a PLA Military Region located in the east of the People's Republic of China, covering the Shandong and Henan Provinces, which also formed military districts. It appears that Yang Dezhi was one of the first commander ...
, 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
In 1999, Xu was promoted to the rank of General (''Shang Jiang
(; ja, 将, Shō; ) is the rank held by general officers in some East Asian militaries. The ranks are used in both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China on Taiwan. The People's Liberation Army and the People's Armed Police use ...
''), the highest non-wartime rank in the PLA, and also joined the Central Military Commission, in addition to taking charge of the General Political Department (GPD) as its executive deputy head. In December 2000 he was named the head of the , 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's 16th National Congress, Xu became a member of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party
The Central Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party, officially the Secretariat of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, is a body serving the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party and its Standing Committee. The secretariat is ...
, 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 Chairman ]Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004, and as pres ...
. 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 rank Guo Boxiong
Guo Boxiong (born July 1942) is a former general of the People's Liberation Army of China. He served as the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, China's top military council, between 2002 and 2012. During the same period he also he ...
as "Jiang's proxy in the military."
During his term as Central Military Commission Vice-chairman, beginning in 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 because CCP General Secretary
The general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party () is the Party leader, head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Since 1989, the CCP general secr ...
and Central Military Chairman Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese politician who served as the 16–17th general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the 6th president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 2003 to 2013, an ...
, nominally Xu's superior, took a relatively hands-off approach to military affairs.[ In 2007, he was named to the 25-member ]Politburo
A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states.
Names
The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...
, being elected at the 1st Plenary Session of the 17th Central Committee. Xu retired from the Politburo in 2012 and the Central Military Commission in 2013.
Corruption allegations
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-file petty officer
A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be superior ...
s.[ 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 with ]bladder cancer
Bladder cancer is any of several types of cancer arising from the tissues of the urinary bladder. Symptoms include blood in the urine, pain with urination, and low back pain. It is caused when epithelial cells that line the bladder become mali ...
and was undergoing extensive treatment at the 301 Military Hospital
The People's Liberation Army General Hospital and Medical School (301 Hospital; ) is the central military medical institution of the People's Liberation Army and the largest comprehensive military hospital in China.
The 301 Hospital located in B ...
in 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
Gu Junshan (; born October 1956) is a former lieutenant general in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China who was sentenced to prison for corruption. He served as the Deputy Director of the PLA General Logistics Department (GLD) from Decemb ...
, 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-Premier ]Huang Ju
Huang Ju (28 September 1938 – 2 June 2007) was a Chinese politician and a high-ranking leader in the Chinese Communist Party. He was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, China's top decision making body, between 2002 until his death i ...
as 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 a ]Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Sinophone, Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly r ...
gala for retired military officials in 2014, Xu reportedly tried to speak to Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, s ...
, who is the Chairman of the Central Military Commission Chairman of the Central Military Commission may refer to:
*Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China)
*Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea
See also
*Secretary of the Central Military Commission of the ...
, 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 surrounding Zhou Yongkang
Zhou Yongkang (born 3 December 1942) is a former senior leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He was a member of the 17th Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), China's highest decision-making body, and the Secretary of the Central Politic ...
, a former member of the Politburo Standing Committee
The Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), officially the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Histori ...
.[ 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's anti-corruption campaign.]["China's biggest 'military tiger' Xu Caihou confesses to taking bribes"]
by Paul Armstrong and Steven Jiang, CNN, 29 October 2014
Death
Xu died on March 15, 2015, from bladder cancer and multiple organ failure at the 301 Military Hospital
The People's Liberation Army General Hospital and Medical School (301 Hospital; ) is the central military medical institution of the People's Liberation Army and the largest comprehensive military hospital in China.
The 301 Hospital located in B ...
in Beijing at the age of 71, likely during the annual "two sessions" (''Lianghui
The Two Sessions (NPC & CPPCC National Committee annual sessions), or in Chinese ''Lianghui'' is a common Mandarin Chinese abbreviation for a pair of organizations which have close relations.
In the Chinese government, the term refers to the ...
'') meeting of China's legislature and legislative advisory body. There is some speculation that his death was not announced until the conclusion of ''Lianghui'' on 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".
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xu, Caihou
1943 births
2015 deaths
People from Wafangdian
Expelled members of the Chinese Communist Party
People's Liberation Army generals from Liaoning
Members of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party
Deaths from cancer in the People's Republic of China
Deaths from bladder cancer
Members of the 17th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party