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China Expels 9 Army Officials From Parliament

by Agence France-Presse

   beijing, china --

   China has expelled nine military officials from its parliament,
   including four generals of the army's strategic missile unit, in a
   sweeping reshuffle following the appointment of a new defense minister.

   The decision, announced late Friday by the state news agency Xinhua,
   came after a meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Communist
   Party.

   No explanation was given for the officials' removal.

   Their removal is one of a series of high-level restructuring moves in
   the military establishment since defense minister Li Shangfu was
   abruptly sacked in October following months of speculation about his
   whereabouts.

   Appointed in March, Li disappeared from public view in August before
   being formally dismissed in October.

   On Friday, Beijing appointed Dong Jun as the new defense minister,
   ending a monthslong vacancy in the strategic post.

   Recent months have also seen an overhaul in the leadership of China's
   secretive Rocket Force, the army unit that oversees Beijing's nuclear
   arsenal, following media reports of a corruption probe involving its
   former chief.

   The nine officials fired Friday from the National People's Congress sat
   in parliament as non-elected representatives.

   Their dismissal "suggests that those officers are being probed and
   confirms some of the rumors circulating on the topic," says U.S.-based
   SinoInsider, a firm specializing in Chinese politics.