A senior member of China’s military elite has been suspended from office, under suspicion of “serious violations of discipline,” the Chinese government revealed on Thursday, months after two of the country’s former defense ministers were officially denounced for graft and disloyalty to the Communist Party and its top leader, Xi Jinping.

中国政府周四透露，一名解放军高级将领因涉嫌“严重违纪”已被停职。几个月前，中国的两名前国防部长因腐败问题和对中共及其最高领导人习近平不忠而遭审查起诉。

A spokesman for China’s Ministry of National Defense told a news briefing in Beijing that Adm. Miao Hua was under investigation. His case seems to be another indication that Mr. Xi’s apparently iron grip on the armed forces and his decade-long campaign against corruption have not eradicated graft in its high ranks.

中国国防部一名发言人在北京举行的例行记者会上说，海军上将苗华正在等候调查。他的案件似乎再次表明，习近平对军队的铁腕控制以及长达十年的反腐运动并没有根除高层的腐败问题。

The announcement of Admiral Miao’s suspension while under investigation was made by a spokesman for the ministry, Senior Col. Wu Qian, at a monthly news conference, according to a transcript on the ministry’s website.

据国防部网站上发布的记者会文字实录，在北京举行的月度例行记者会上，国防部发言人吴谦大校宣布苗华上将已被停职，正在等候检查。

The reason that Colonel Wu cited for the investigation into Admiral Miao, “serious violations of discipline,” often refers to corruption, but it can also cover other misdeeds like political disloyalty.

吴谦说，苗华遭停职检查的原因是“严重违纪”，这个说法通常指的是腐败，但也可以包括政治上不忠诚等其他不当行为。

Since 2017, Admiral Miao has served on the Central Military Commission — the Chinese Communist Party committee that controls the People’s Liberation Army, or P.L.A. — and has been the director of the Political Work Department, which helps enforce party discipline in the military.

中国人民解放军由中共中央军事委员会控制。苗华自2017年以来一直是中央军委委员，并担任政治工作部主任一职，该部门帮助在军队中执行党的纪律。

With Admiral Miao “as head of the political office of the armed wing of the Communist Party, this case is much more serious than if the target was the defense minister, who controls no budget and commands no troops,” said Drew Thompson, a former U.S. Defense Department official who was responsible for managing ties with China.

苗华“是中共军事部门政治办公室的负责人，他的案子比针对国防部长的要严重得多，国防部长既不控制预算也不指挥军队”，唐安竹(Drew Thompson)说，他曾在美国国防部担任负责处理对华关系的官员。

“The two previous defense ministers have been purged with no obvious effect on the P.L.A.,” said Mr. Thompson, now a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. “But the top political commissar is a critical role, so this case is much more serious and has implications for morale.”

“前两任国防部长被清洗对解放军没有明显的影响，”唐安竹说，他现在是新加坡南洋理工大学拉惹勒南国际关系学院的高级研究员。“但军中最高级别的政委是起关键作用的角色，所以这个案子要严重得多，有可能影响士气。”

The signs of persisting corruption high in China’s military are especially troublesome for Mr. Xi. Soon after taking power as Communist Party leader in 2012, he made a priority of purging the People’s Liberation Army. Dozens of commanders and senior officers were convicted of illicitly selling military property, diverting contracts to cronies, taking cash in exchange for promotions and other abuses.

中国军队高层中反复出现腐败迹象，这对习近平来说是个尤其棘手的问题。他2012年担任中共领导人后不久，就把清理解放军作为一个优先事项来抓。数十名指挥官和高层将领已被判有罪，罪名包括非法出售军方财产、把合同转手让给亲信、与卖官有关的受贿问题，以及其他滥用职权行为。

Throughout this year, Mr. Xi has warned Chinese commanders and officers to redouble their loyalty to him and the Communist Party, after a string of scandals.

一系列军中丑闻曝光后，习近平今年自始至终都在告诫指挥官和高层将领们要对他本人和中共加倍忠诚。

In 2023, Mr. Xi abruptly replaced two commanders of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, which controls China’s nuclear missiles. Later, the defense minister at the time, Gen. Li Shangfu, disappeared and was dismissed. 

习近平曾2023年突然撤换了火箭军的两名指挥官，火箭军是解放军控制中国核导弹的军种。后来，时任国防部长的李尚福上将从公众视野中消失，随后被免职。

In June, Communist Party leaders officially accused General Li and Gen. Wei Fenghe, the defense minister from 2018 to 2023, of taking huge bribes, trading in military promotions and undermining weapons production with corruption.

今年6月，中共领导层正式指控李尚福以及曾在2018至2023年担任国防部长的魏凤和上将收受巨额贿赂、用军官晋升做交易、损害军队装备建设。

The investigation into Admiral Miao suggested that another, wider investigation may be underway, taking in officers who worked with or under him and other commanders, said Ou Si-fu, a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, an institute in Taipei that is funded by Taiwan’s defense ministry.

台湾国防部资助的台北国防安全研究所研究员欧锡富说，对苗华的调查表明，另一项更广泛的调查可能正在进行，调查对象包括与他共事或在他手下工作的军官以及其他指挥官。

Despite Mr. Xi’s repeated efforts to eradicate serious corruption, the increasing amounts devoted to the Chinese military appeared to remain a tempting source of illicit deals, especially in logistics, armaments manufacturing and infrastructure like barracks, Mr. Ou said.

欧锡富说，尽管习近平一再努力根除严重的腐败，但越来越多的资金投入中国军队，这似乎仍然是一个诱人的非法交易来源，特别是在后勤、武器制造和军营等基础设施方面。

“Corruption in the high echelons of China’s Liberation Army can be a kind of collective behavior,” he said. The possibility that Admiral Miao may be implicated could especially rankle Mr. Xi, because he promoted him into the top ranks, Mr. Ou said.

 “中国解放军高层贪腐，应该他们是一个集体的行动，”欧锡富说，苗华牵涉其中的可能性或许会让习近平特别恼火，因为是他一手把苗华提拔到高层的。

Admiral Miao, who turns 69 this month, rose as a political officer in the army, but he was abruptly promoted to the navy in 2014. Three years later, he rose again, to become the chief political commissar for the entire military.

本月年满69岁的苗华曾在陆军担任政治官员，在2014年突然被提拔到海军。三年后，他再次晋升，成为全军的政治工作部主任。

That commissar role involves ensuring loyalty to the party in the military, and also would give Admiral Miao a powerful say in promotions.

政治工作部主任的角色包括确保军队对党的忠诚，这也给苗华在晋升方面带来强大的发言权。

“The Political Work Department is about political warfare, and so it should be for the reddest of the red,” Mr. Ou said, referring to the Communist Party’s emblematic color. “But even so, Xi Jinping has kicked him out.”

“因为他是政治工作部，是政战的，所以应该最红的，”欧锡富说。红色是共产党的象征颜色。“那竟然也，习近平也把他开除了。”

In June, Mr. Xi gathered senior Chinese military leaders in Yan’an, a revered base of Mao Zedong’s revolution, and urged them to reinforce their commitment to the party and to crack down on corruption.

今年6月，习近平在毛泽东的革命基地延安主持召开了中央军委政治工作会议，向高级将领们提出了加强对党忠诚、清除腐败的要求。

“Be clear, the gun must always stay in the hands of those who are reliable and loyal to the party,” Mr. Xi said to them, echoing a famous saying of Mao, according to the official account of the meeting. “Be clear that corrupt elements must not be allowed to hide inside the body of the military.” Admiral Miao was in the audience.

“明确枪杆子要始终掌握在对党忠诚可靠的人手中，”据官方发布的会议纪要，习近平对高级将领们说道，他的这句话呼应了毛泽东的一个说法。“明确军中绝不能有腐败分子藏身之地。”当时，苗华也在那次会议的听众席上。