Beijing [China], March 24 : Chinese President Xi Jinping's decade-long campaign to end corruption in the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) is meant to ensure the military is modernised and prepared to invade Taiwan by 2027, according to a US intelligence report made public last week, Taipei Times reported.
The report released on Thursday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), titled "Wealth and Corrupt Activities of the Leadership of the Chinese Communist Party," states that up to 65 per cent of all government officials in China accept bribes or engage in graft, as per Taipei Times.
Xi launched a sweeping anti-corruption campaign when he came to power in 2012. Since then, nearly 5 million officials at all levels of government have been found guilty graft charges, the report said, as per Taipei Times.
The campaign has targeted rampant leadership corruption within the ranks of the PLA, "which have included a culture of pay-for-promotion that continues even a decade after the anti-corruption campaign's launch."
Some of the biggest names removed from their jobs include General Li Shangfu, then-minister of national defence in 2023, and Admiral Miao Hua, then-director of the Central Military Commission's Political Work Department who was in charge of political loyalty within the PLA last year.
"Both Li and Miao were accused of Party discipline violations, and both were considered protegees of Xi, demonstrating the seriousness of the CCP's [Chinese Communist Party's] concerns regarding loyalty and effectiveness -- particularly within the PLA -- and the scope of the regime's approach to corruption," the report said.
"His focus on corruption in the PLA may also reflect concerns that corrupt practices will prevent the military from acquiring the capabilities and readiness he has directed it to achieve by 2027, in preparation for a potential conflict over Taiwan," Taipei Times quoted.
The report defines corruption as an "endemic feature of and challenge for China, enabled by a political system with power highly centralized in the hands of the CCP, a CCP-centric concept of the rule of law, a lack of independent checks on public officials and limited transparency."
In October 2020, Xi set the PLA the goal of becoming a "modern military" by 2027. US officials believe this means Xi wants China to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027.
The report also claims that Xi has amassed more than USD 1 billion in assets through relatives, Taipei Times reported. The six-page unclassified DNI report was commissioned by the US Congress under the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. The legislation mandating a report was sponsored by Tennessee Republican Andy Ogles and then-senator Marco Rubio, now US secretary of state.
The Washington Times said the DNI report is the first official US disclosure about the "sensitive subject of Chinese leadership and CCP corruption."