Xu Caihou facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Xu Caihou
徐才厚
Xu Caihou in October 2009
Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission
In office State Commission 13 March 2005 – 14 March 2013 Party Commission 19 September 2004 – 15 November 2012 Serving with Guo Boxiong, Cao Gangchuan and Xi Jinping
Chairman	Hu Jintao
Head of the People's Liberation Army General Political Department
In office November 2002 – September 2004
Preceded by	Yu Yongbo
Succeeded by	Li Jinai
Secretary of the Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Central Military Commission
In office December 2000 – November 2002
Preceded by	Zhou Ziyu
Succeeded by	Zhang Shutian
Personal details
Born	June 1943 Wafangdian, Fengtian, Manchukuo (now Liaoning, China)
Died	March 15, 2015 (aged 71) Beijing, China
Political party	Chinese Communist Party (1971–2014, expelled)
Alma mater	Harbin Military Engineering Institute
Military service
Allegiance	People's Republic of China
Branch/service	People's Liberation Army
Years of service	1963–1966 1970–2013
Rank	General (stripped in 2014)
Commands	Jinan Military Region (1996–1999)
Chinese name
Chinese	徐才厚
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xú Cáihòu Wade–Giles Hsü Ts'ai-hou IPA [ɕǔ tsʰăɪhôu]

Xu Caihou (Chinese: 徐才厚; June 1943 – March 15, 2015) was a very important Chinese general. He served in the People's Liberation Army (PLA), which is China's military. He was also a vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC). This group is the highest military council in China. As a vice-chairman, he was one of the most powerful officers in the PLA. He was also part of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party from 2007 to 2012.

Xu Caihou was born into a working-class family in Liaoning province. He spent much of his early career in northeastern China. In 1990, he moved to Beijing. There, he became a political leader for the 16th Group Army. He also worked as an editor for the PLA Daily, the army's main newspaper. In 1996, he became a political leader for the Jinan Military Region. He became vice-chairman of the CMC in September 2004 and retired in March 2013.

In March 2014, Xu Caihou was investigated. He faced serious questions about his actions while in power. In June 2014, he was removed from the Communist Party. He was accused of misusing his power and accepting gifts for promoting officers. This was one of the biggest investigations in the PLA's history. Xu Caihou was facing legal action, but he died in March 2015 from bladder cancer. The charges were then dropped.

Early Life and Education

Xu Caihou was born in 1943 in Wafangdian, Liaoning province. His parents worked in factories. He went to No. 8 Middle School in Dalian. He did very well on his Gaokao exams. These are important tests for getting into college in China.

He was accepted into the special Harbin Military Engineering Institute in Harbin. There, he studied electrical engineering. This institute trained many future high-ranking army officers. In April 1966, before the Cultural Revolution began, the government told all students at the institute to leave the military and take civilian jobs.

Xu graduated in 1968, during the Cultural Revolution. He was sent to the countryside to do farm work for over a year. This happened on a military farm in Tangyuan County. Because his parents were factory workers, he was allowed to rejoin the army. Xu joined the army in the spring of 1970 as an officer cadet. He was stationed in Jilin province. It took him four years to get his first promotion as an officer.

Military Career

After the Cultural Revolution, China's leader Deng Xiaoping wanted to promote young university graduates. This was part of his plan to improve the military. Most army leaders at that time had only basic education. Starting in 1982, Xu Caihou quickly received many promotions. He spent much of his early career in Jilin province. His roles often involved managing relationships between the military and politics.

In 1990, Xu became the political commissar of the 16th Group Army. Soon after, he was promoted to major general. When he moved to Beijing for work, a classmate offered him an air conditioner as a gift. Xu reportedly refused it. He said he did not want a special privilege that his boss, who didn't have an air conditioner, lacked.

Next, Xu worked as the chief editor of the People's Liberation Army Daily newspaper. He held this job for just over a year. During this time, he was promoted again to lieutenant general. In 1996, he became the political commissar of the Jinan Military Region. This region covered military units in several eastern Chinese provinces. Xu's job was to handle "political affairs" in the military. This meant he was in charge of promoting and evaluating army officers.

Leading the Central Military Commission

Xu Caihou met U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates in 2009.

In 1999, Xu was promoted to the rank of General (Shang Jiang). This is the highest rank in the PLA during peacetime. He also joined the Central Military Commission. Additionally, he became the executive deputy head of the General Political Department (GPD). In December 2000, he was named the head of the Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Central Military Commission. This group was responsible for fighting corruption and enforcing rules in the military.

Xu's rise in the military also led to his rise in the Communist Party. In November 2002, he took full leadership of the GPD. At the party's 16th National Congress, Xu became a member of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party. This group helps carry out the party's policies.

Many believed that Xu's quick promotions around 2000 were due to support from Jiang Zemin. Jiang was the chairman of the Central Military Commission at the time. Some people thought that even after Jiang retired in 2004, he still influenced the military through Xu. Some retired officers even called Xu and another general, Guo Boxiong, "Jiang's representatives in the military."

As Vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission starting in 2004, Xu had great power over who got promoted in the military. Some people saw Xu as the main person running the military day-to-day. This was because CCP General Secretary and Central Military Chairman Hu Jintao, who was Xu's boss, was less involved in military matters. In 2007, Xu was named to the 25-member Politburo. He retired from the Politburo in 2012 and the Central Military Commission in 2013.

Investigation and Removal from Party

Reports in Chinese and international news said that during Xu's time as vice-chairman, it was common for officers to give gifts to get higher ranks. This practice was said to happen from the highest officers down to the lowest ranks. Some sources in the army said that Xu had a lot of unchecked power. For example, one officer reportedly tried to offer a large sum of money to Xu for a higher rank. Another officer then offered even more, and Xu changed his mind about the first officer. Other accusations suggested that there were unofficial prices for each rank and other benefits in the army.

In March 2014, it was reported that Xu, then 70, had bladder cancer. He was getting treatment at the 301 Military Hospital in Beijing. Around the same time, an investigation into his conduct began. Some in the military thought Xu might not face charges because he was very ill. Gu Junshan, an officer who was promoted during Xu's time, was already being investigated for a large scandal involving military property.

Xu's supporters asked for mercy. They said that having terminal cancer was like already getting a "death penalty." They mentioned a past case where charges were not pressed against an official who was very ill. However, the decision to investigate Xu was made on March 15, 2014. Xu was taken from his hospital bed by armed police. His wife, daughter, and former secretary were also reportedly taken into custody.

At a Chinese New Year party for retired military officials in 2014, Xu reportedly tried to speak to Xi Jinping. Xi Jinping is the Chairman of the Central Military Commission. However, Xu was not successful in speaking with him.

Expelled from the Party

Xu Caihou was removed from the Chinese Communist Party on June 30, 2014. State media said that Xu had misused his power. They stated he accepted gifts directly or through family members in exchange for promotions. He was also accused of helping people close to him using his official position.

Xu's removal was surprising. Investigations involving high-ranking military officers are rarely made public in China. This is usually to protect national security. Such an announcement about a top general was completely new. Xu became the highest-ranked officer in the PLA's history to be investigated for such issues. During the investigation, officers reportedly found a huge amount of cash in his Beijing home. They also found valuable gems, old artifacts, and artwork. It was said that much of the cash was still neatly packed in boxes. These boxes were marked with the names of individual officers. It reportedly took 12 trucks to move everything taken from his home.

Some experts believe that Xu's removal showed that Xi Jinping was gaining more control over the military. They thought it was even more important politically than the investigation into Zhou Yongkang. Zhou was a former member of the Politburo Standing Committee. The Communist Party presented Xu's removal as part of Xi Jinping's wider effort to stop corruption and improve the military. In October 2014, Xu reportedly admitted to taking gifts. He became the most important figure in China's military to be caught in Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign.

Death

Xu Caihou died on March 15, 2015. He passed away from bladder cancer and other organ problems. He was 71 years old. He died at the 301 Military Hospital in Beijing. This happened during the annual "two sessions" (Lianghui) meeting. This meeting involves China's legislature and advisory body. Some people think his death was not announced until the meeting ended. This was to avoid distracting from the important political gathering. Because he died, military prosecutors announced they would not continue the legal case against him. This was "in accordance with legal procedures." However, they said they would continue to investigate his "ill-gotten gains."

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See also

In Spanish: Xu Caihou para niños