The death of the former second-in-command of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) amid an ongoing nationwide anti-corruption probe has prompted questions over the timing and accuracy of official media reports about the former general's fate, analysts said on Monday.
Xu Caihou, former vice chairman of the ruling Chinese Communist Party's Central Military Commission (CMC), died of bladder cancer on Sunday after being placed under investigation for bribery last year, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Xu had already been expelled from the party, discharged from military service and stripped of his rank as general under an anti-graft crackdown launched by President Xi Jinping.
"Xu was found to have taken advantage of his position to promote others, accepting a huge amount of bribes both personally and through his family," Xinhua said.
The authorities will continue to investigate bribes allegedly made to Xu, a key ally of former president Jiang Zemin, whose powerful behind-the-scenes influence is seen by some as a target of Xi's campaign.
Xu Caihou, former vice chairman of the ruling Chinese Communist Party's Central Military Commission (CMC), died of bladder cancer on Sunday after being placed under investigation for bribery last year, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Xu had already been expelled from the party, discharged from military service and stripped of his rank as general under an anti-graft crackdown launched by President Xi Jinping.
"Xu was found to have taken advantage of his position to promote others, accepting a huge amount of bribes both personally and through his family," Xinhua said.
The authorities will continue to investigate bribes allegedly made to Xu, a key ally of former president Jiang Zemin, whose powerful behind-the-scenes influence is seen by some as a target of Xi's campaign.
Timing questioned
Yang Jisheng, editor-in-chief of political magazine Yanhuang Chunqiu, said questions remain over the timing of the announcement of Xu's death, however.
He said that contrary to reports in official media that Xu's cancer wasn't diagnosed until last month, his cancer had been no secret in political circles for a long time.
"He had been sick with cancer for many years," Yang told RFA on Monday. "Nobody knows the circumstances of his death, nor even whether he did indeed die of his illness."
"It's not clear at all."
China in January ordered a probe into deaths of its officials from "unnatural causes" following a rise in the number of reported suicides among them, government websites reported at the time.
Government departments and agencies were ordered to compile data on officials who died of "unnatural causes," amid a rise in the number of apparent suicides in officialdom.
Since coming to power in November 2012, Xi has launched a nationwide anti-campaign targeting both high-ranking "tigers" and low-ranking "flies."
He said that contrary to reports in official media that Xu's cancer wasn't diagnosed until last month, his cancer had been no secret in political circles for a long time.
"He had been sick with cancer for many years," Yang told RFA on Monday. "Nobody knows the circumstances of his death, nor even whether he did indeed die of his illness."
"It's not clear at all."
China in January ordered a probe into deaths of its officials from "unnatural causes" following a rise in the number of reported suicides among them, government websites reported at the time.
Government departments and agencies were ordered to compile data on officials who died of "unnatural causes," amid a rise in the number of apparent suicides in officialdom.
Since coming to power in November 2012, Xi has launched a nationwide anti-campaign targeting both high-ranking "tigers" and low-ranking "flies."
Highly selective campaign
But critics say the campaign is highly selective, and only targets Xi's political rivals or their supporters, while others have hit out at mistreatment of detainees and alleged forced confessions under the party's internal "shuanggui" disciplinary system.
Yang said there are many in China who would be pleased at Xu's passing.
"Xu Caihou's mouth has been shut before his case was even made public," Yang said. "Some people are going to be happy ... regardless of how he died."
The timing of the announcement also prompted doubts over official media reports that Xu died on Sunday.
Many familiar with Xu and his circumstances believe he may have died earlier, and that the announcement of his death was postponed until the end of the politically sensitive National People's Congress (NPC) annual meeting in Beijing on Sunday.
"It seems like the announcement concerning Xu was carefully designed so many people will realize that it will not be easy to reach a conclusion to his case, and that he was also very sick," Hong Kong's South China Morning Post newspaper quoted a source close to the Guangzhou Military Command as saying.
"Xu was expected to die many days ago, but it would have been impossible to announce his death at the time because there is a rule that no one and nothing can be allowed to shift the focus away from the ... National People's Congress," the source said.
The paper cited online rumors that began to surface on March 7 about the death of a senior former leader from bladder cancer.
Yang said there are many in China who would be pleased at Xu's passing.
"Xu Caihou's mouth has been shut before his case was even made public," Yang said. "Some people are going to be happy ... regardless of how he died."
The timing of the announcement also prompted doubts over official media reports that Xu died on Sunday.
Many familiar with Xu and his circumstances believe he may have died earlier, and that the announcement of his death was postponed until the end of the politically sensitive National People's Congress (NPC) annual meeting in Beijing on Sunday.
"It seems like the announcement concerning Xu was carefully designed so many people will realize that it will not be easy to reach a conclusion to his case, and that he was also very sick," Hong Kong's South China Morning Post newspaper quoted a source close to the Guangzhou Military Command as saying.
"Xu was expected to die many days ago, but it would have been impossible to announce his death at the time because there is a rule that no one and nothing can be allowed to shift the focus away from the ... National People's Congress," the source said.
The paper cited online rumors that began to surface on March 7 about the death of a senior former leader from bladder cancer.
'Rotten to the core'
Wuhan-based political activist Xu Wu said he didn't believe the official version of events surrounding Xu's death, either.
"The Chinese Communist Party lies about everything it does, and it controls everything, even life and death," Xu Wu said. "An individual doesn't even get to decide when they live or die."
"I think the Chinese Communist Party decided that too many people would be implicated if they tried [Xu] publicly."
Shanghai-based pro-democracy activist Hu Keshi agreed, adding that the entire PLA would be affected if Xu's case had been allowed to move to a public trial.
"China's military is rotten to the core, to the extent that it would be better to abolish the old army entirely and start over with a new one," Hu said.
"The Chinese Communist Party lies about everything it does, and it controls everything, even life and death," Xu Wu said. "An individual doesn't even get to decide when they live or die."
"I think the Chinese Communist Party decided that too many people would be implicated if they tried [Xu] publicly."
Shanghai-based pro-democracy activist Hu Keshi agreed, adding that the entire PLA would be affected if Xu's case had been allowed to move to a public trial.
"China's military is rotten to the core, to the extent that it would be better to abolish the old army entirely and start over with a new one," Hu said.
Late Xu's assets
Guangdong-based rights lawyer Sui Muqing called on the authorities to proceed with a posthumous prosecution of the bribery charges against Xu, in the public interest.
"Without a trial and judgement issued by a court, [Xu] cannot be considered guilty," Sui said. "Of course the government regards the assets it has confiscated from him as bribes, but legally speaking, there's a problem."
"If he can't be found guilty, then how can his assets be regarded as bribes? If they can't determine that these assets were bribes, then they should be returned to his family," Sui said.
Xu's former fellow CMC vice chairman Guo Boxiong is also under investigation by the party's anti-graft arm, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), Reuters reported, although no official comment has been made.
Last week, China's highest-ranking judicial official said former security czar Zhou Yongkang, who is at the center of a huge graft probe into his connections in the domestic security regime, state-run petroleum companies and the Sichuan provincial government, would be held in court.
The trial of Zhou and officials implicated alongside him will be "open in accordance with the law," Supreme People's Court chairman Zhou Qiang told state media during the NPC annual session.
Zhou Yongkang was formally arrested and expelled from the party last year, and now faces criminal charges including taking bribes and leaking state secrets.
However, such a politically sensitive case is unlikely to produce much more than a carefully managed show trial, analysts have said.
"Without a trial and judgement issued by a court, [Xu] cannot be considered guilty," Sui said. "Of course the government regards the assets it has confiscated from him as bribes, but legally speaking, there's a problem."
"If he can't be found guilty, then how can his assets be regarded as bribes? If they can't determine that these assets were bribes, then they should be returned to his family," Sui said.
Xu's former fellow CMC vice chairman Guo Boxiong is also under investigation by the party's anti-graft arm, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), Reuters reported, although no official comment has been made.
Last week, China's highest-ranking judicial official said former security czar Zhou Yongkang, who is at the center of a huge graft probe into his connections in the domestic security regime, state-run petroleum companies and the Sichuan provincial government, would be held in court.
The trial of Zhou and officials implicated alongside him will be "open in accordance with the law," Supreme People's Court chairman Zhou Qiang told state media during the NPC annual session.
Zhou Yongkang was formally arrested and expelled from the party last year, and now faces criminal charges including taking bribes and leaking state secrets.
However, such a politically sensitive case is unlikely to produce much more than a carefully managed show trial, analysts have said.
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