China Purges Army Leaders

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31128, 3 August 1966, Page 18

China Purges Army Leaders

fN.Z.P-A.-Reuter —Copyright)

HONG KONG, August 2. China has purged some of its Army leaders, the New China News Agency said today. The agency’s disclosure came with the announcement that the country’s top military post had changed hands, with the Korean war veteran, Yang I Cheng Wu, becoming acting 1 Chief of the General Staff.

The agency was quoting yesterday’s editorial in the “Liberation Army Daily,” organ of the Vice-Premier and Defence Minister, Lin Piao, which has spearheaded China’s campaign against dissident elements. “Big Struggle” It spoke of a recent “big struggle” within the Army and said: “Exposed in this struggle were representatives of the bourgoisie who had got hold of important posts in the Army and were important members of the counterrevolutionary, anti-party, anti-

socialist clique recently uncovered by our party.” Apparently included in the indictment was Lo Juchang, a Vice-Premier and Chief of the General Staff until his replacement by Yang. Lo has not been seen in public recently and the Chinese press and radio have not mentioned him for some time.

One charge levelled at the dissident Army leaders was that they did not give first consideration to politics but rather to military affairs, technique and specialised work.

The editorial said: “They had opposed the party’s central and Mao Tse-tung’s thought “Our party’s thorough exposure and denunciation of the handful of anti-party careerists is a great new victory for Mao Tse4ung’s thought.”

The newspaper indicated that the recent purge was one of three such “struggles” within the Army in the 16 years since the founding of the Chinese People's Republic.