Ex-military leader faces prosecution

Guo Boxiong, a former Chinese military leader, was expelled from the Communist Party of China for taking bribes, according to a decision made by the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau on Thursday.

The bureau also decided to transfer his case to military prosecutors.

Guo, 73, formerly served as the vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission.

The decision was made after the bureau approved a report by the Central Military Commission disciplinary inspection authority on Guo's investigation.

The investigation found that Guo took advantage of his post to seek promotion and other benefits for others and accepted bribes personally or through his family.

"His acts seriously violated the CPC's discipline and left a vile impact," a statement released after the meeting said.

It said the CPC Central Committee decided on April 9 to put Guo under investigation in accordance with the Party's disciplinary rules.

There have been expectations that Guo would be investigated since early March, when his son, Guo Zhenggang, who was promoted to major general in January, was investigated for corruption.

Another top military official, Xu Caihou, also former Central Military Commission vice-chairman, was probed for corruption in March 2014. Xu died in March this year.

PLA Daily said in a commentary that Guo has made his own bed.

Recent corruption cases in the military show that the task of fighting corruption remains arduous, and the announcement about Guo, made ahead of Army Day on Saturday, shows the PLA's steely resolve to carry forward the fight against corruption within the army, the commentary said.