DATE=7/19/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHINA-ARMY CORRUPTION (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-264568
BYLINE=LETA HONG FINCHER
DATELINE=BEIJING
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: China's former military intelligence chief
will be indicted for corruption in China's
biggest smuggling case in decades. VOA's Leta
Hong Fincher reports from Beijing that the former
major-general of the People's Liberation Army has
also been linked to a fundraising scandal in the
United States.
TEXT: China's state media reports that Major
General Ji Shengde will soon be indicted for
taking bribes and embezzling funds involving more
than 12 million dollars. The state-run newspaper
Economic Reference says General Ji accepted
millions of dollars in bribes from a Chinese
smuggler, Lai Changxin. Mr. Lai headed a company
in the southern port of Xiamen, which is believed
to have smuggled around 10 billion dollars worth
of goods into China. The Xiamen smuggling case
has also tainted several other senior Chinese
military officials.
General Ji was forced out of his position as head
of intelligence for the People's Liberation Army
in June 1999 during the corruption investigation.
During the same period, the general was also
linked to the U-S Democratic Party fundraising
scandal. Last year, key witness Chinese-American
Johnny Chung testified before the U-S Congress
that he had received 300,000 dollars from General
Ji. Part of that money was contributed to
President Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign.
General Ji's case is unusual because it is the
first time China's tightly-controlled official
media have named an allegedly corrupt officer in
the People's Liberation Army.
General Ji's case was reportedly sent all the way
up to Chinese President Jiang Zemin for a
decision on the indictment. President Jiang, who
is also the chairman of the Central Military
Commission, has been tackling entrenched army
corruption. In 1998 he orders the P-L-A to
divest itself of billion of dollars in business
interests. (signed)
NEB/HK/LHF/JO
19-Jul-2000 06:42 AM EDT (19-Jul-2000 1042 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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