UPDATES WITH DETAILS AS MORE GENERALS REMOVED
ISTANBUL (AA) - A senior Chinese military official has been ousted from the country’s Central Military Commission (CMC) on Friday, state media reported.
Miao Hua was one of the six members of the CMC and the decision to remove him from the top military body was taken by Chinese lawmakers during the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee meeting which concluded in Beijing.
The committee also expelled People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy Chief of Staff Vice Adm. Li Hanjun, along with top nuclear scientist Liu Shipeng from the NPC.
Liu serves as the deputy chief engineer at the state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation, according to daily South China Morning Post.
In November, China’s Defense Ministry had said Miao was suspended from his duties after being probed for “serious violation of rules.”
“Serious violation of rules,” in Chinese state jargon, usually refers to cases of graft.
The NPC Standing Committee's move comes after the CMC’s political work department decided to expel Miao from the top legislature in March.
He was accused of “suspected serious violations of discipline and law” -- indicating "his wrongdoings were more serious than previously thought," the daily said.
Miao is an admiral in the PLA Navy and had been serving as the director of the commission’s political department -- "responsible for ideological control and personnel management" within the military force.
Led by President Xi Jinping, the CMC oversees the Chinese military in general.
Miao was “last seen in public” on Oct. 7 last year when he attended the 70th anniversary celebrations of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.
He is one of the several high-profile uniformed men to have been ousted from their official positions, as well as legislature in recent years.
Earlier, former Defense Minister Li Shangfu and former PLA Rocket Force commander Li Yuchao were expelled from the Chinese Communist Party for "serious violations of discipline and law.”