In March this year, news broke that He Weidong, a member of the Communist Party of China’s Political Bureau and Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, had been arrested and has not been seen since. Recently, foreign media revealed that He Weidong has been removed from his position due to corruption. On April 24th, when journalists asked about this issue at a routine press conference, Chinese Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang did not give a direct response, only saying that “we have already responded to this issue before.”
After the conclusion of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, former Chinese media person Zhao Lanjian disclosed on social media that He Weidong has been arrested. Following this revelation, He Weidong has been absent from important events such as the annual tree-planting ceremony of the Military Commission and the Central Peripheral Work Conference, leading to speculations about his whereabouts.
On the 24th, Zhang Xiaogang presided over the Chinese Ministry of National Defense’s routine press conference in April. A journalist from Agence France-Presse asked about He Weidong’s absence from public view for over a month and inquired whether China could confirm if he is under investigation for corruption.
Zhang Xiaogang responded, “We have already addressed this issue before, next question,” without providing a direct answer.
Earlier, when Chinese Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Wu Qian was asked about this issue at the March routine press conference, he only said, “There is no information on this matter, I do not know about this situation,” neither confirming nor denying.
Earlier this month, the British newspaper Financial Times cited information from six sources, revealing that He Weidong has been removed from his position in the past “few weeks” due to suspected corruption. One informant mentioned that He Weidong has been under interrogation by authorities since his detention.
In addition to serving as the third-in-command in the Chinese military, He Weidong is also a member of the Communist Party of China’s Political Bureau. Reports indicate that if He Weidong falls from grace, he would be the first Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission to be purged since He Long in 1967.
Related reports:
Internal Communication within the Communist Party of China on the cases of Miao Hua and He Weidong