Catching 14 military 'tigers'   

中國軍方公布查處14名軍級以上干部重大案件情況

Moments after questions on whether China's ongoing countercorruption campaign would snatch "bigger tigers" were aired by China's state broadcaster, the Chinese military authority released Monday a list of 14 generals that had been investigated or convicted recently.

The list notably included Guo Zhenggang, deputy political commissar of Zhejiang provincial military command, as well as other high rank servicemen from major military units.

The investigations come as indisputable proof that the countercorruption effort "has no limit or ceiling" and "no one has impunity", to use the words of Lyu Xinhua, spokesman for the third session of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, who was talking about anti-corruption generally at the first televised press conference of the upcoming "two sessions".

Lyu said that it is perfectly understandable that the general public and media believe that if "bigger tigers" do exist, they should be exposed.

Xu Caihou, a former vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) who had already been investigated, is now by far the highest ranking military official ever to have been prosecuted.

Monday provided further evidence that the military is not above the law, and will be subject to the same scrutiny that the rest of the country is currently experiencing.

The release of the list will give the public confidence in the military's countercorruption campaign, said a commentary on the Ministry of National Defense website.

Specifying the identities of 14 suspects or convicts sheds new light on the increasing transparency of the Chinese military under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.

It also bears witness to Party general secretary and CMC Chairman Xi Jinping's blueprint for China's future, which includes the "comprehensive implementation of rule of law" and the "comprehensive strengthening of Party discipline".

Such is the spirit of a "zero-tolerance" campaign that China is establishing a climate in which officials, both civilian and military, "dare not, can not and wish not commit corruption".

With the annual sessions -- one of China's most important political events -- kicking off this week, corruption issues are expected to be talked about extensively, and Monday's development bodes well for the future of the drive.

"There is no exception in front of military discipline and state laws, " read the commentary on the defense ministry's website.