Gu Junshan: China ex-general charged with corruption and abuse of power

Former Chinese General Gu Junshan has been charged with corruption, misuse of state funds and abuse of power, state media report.

Gu Junshan, who was deputy logistics chief in China’s army, is the most senior officer to be tried at a military court since 2006, reports said.

He was removed from his post in 2012 and has been under investigation since.

China’s President Xi Jinping has vowed to crack down on corruption at all levels of the Communist Party.

“Gu Junshan has been charged on suspicion of corruption, bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power,” state-run news agency Xinhua reported on Monday, adding that he would be prosecuted in a military court.

Correspondents say it is extremely rare for senior military figures to be tried in this way, and a guilty verdict is almost guaranteed.

Chinese investigative magazine Caixin has reported on Gen. Gu Junshan’s apparently lavish lifestyle. The magazine said he owned several properties, including a home in Henan province modeled on China’s former imperial palace with several gold art pieces or statues.

Gen Gu Junshan’s patron Xu Caihou, the powerful former vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, has also been detained and is under investigation, South China Morning Post, Reuters, and the New York Times reported.

Since being confirmed as China’s leader in late 2012, Xi Jinping has called for a crackdown on corruption, vowing to tackle it from the powerful “tigers” at the top to the “flies” at the bottom of the Communist Party.

Several high-profile government officials have been investigated and tried for corruption over the past year.

However, China has also put several prominent anti-corruption activists on trial, a move that human rights groups have described as hypocritical.