Top Chinese General Allegedly Leaks Nuclear Information to the US

JAKARTA - The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Zhang Youxia, a Chinese uniformed high-ranking officer, is suspected of leaking information related to China's nuclear weapons program to the United States.

Zhang, who serves as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and holds the number two position in the national defense body led by President Xi Jinping, was also accused of accepting bribes for certain interests, including helping promote an officer to become defense minister.

China's Defense Ministry announced Saturday it was launching an investigation into Zhang and another senior military official, Liu Zhenli.

Zhang is under investigation for alleged serious disciplinary and legal violations.

According to the report, which was quoted by the Kyodo news agency on Monday, the disclosure of the allegations was made in a briefing attended by the highest ranks of the military.

The WSJ said evidence of alleged leaks of core technical data on China's nuclear weapons emerged from an investigation into former senior officials at state-owned company China National Nuclear Corp.

However, details of the security violations in the nuclear sector were not disclosed in the briefing.

Zhang's downfall is also linked to his role in promoting former Defense Minister Li Shangfu, which is said to have been carried out in exchange for large bribes.

China's own military leadership has been plagued by corruption scandals since mid-2023, with five of the seven original members of the military commission appointed in October 2022 now either dismissed or under investigation.

Li was removed from his post in October 2023, just seven months after taking office.

The Communist Party then announced the dismissal of Li and his predecessor, Wei Fenghe, in June 2024 for disciplinary violations and serious legal violations related to corruption.

The official military newspaper, PLA Daily, in an editorial Sunday said Zhang and Liu had "betrayed the great trust" given to the Communist Party, as well as "damaged the system of supreme responsibility that lies in the hands of the CMC chairman," referring to loyalty to Xi.

Meanwhile, Taiwan Defense Minister Wellington Koo said on Monday that his party was closely monitoring "every unusual change" in the Chinese military leadership.

Given that Beijing has never abandoned the option of using force to unify Taiwan, Koo stressed that his party would continue to strengthen its self-defense capabilities and cooperate with allies in sharing intelligence to deal with any unforeseen possibilities.