On March 14, 2015, China's official English-language Global Times as also some senior PLA officers criticised the Wall Street Journal (WSJ)'s report on corruption in the PLA published on March 11, 2015. The Global Times report quoted strategic military expert PLA Major General Peng Guangqian, and Major General Luo Yuan, Executive Vice President and Secretary General of the Chinese Strategic Culture Association. It quoted them as dismissing the report as malicious imagination and not worth refuting. Major General Luo Yuan said the WSJ report had ulterior motives including to bad-mouth the PLA, spread disaffection in the armed forces, and sow discord between the army and the masses. He urged the armed forces to keep their belief in Xi Jinping and justified tackling corruption in the PLA saying it is in keeping with the principle of "the Party commands the gun." He added that "After the fight against corruption, the army we will shine with new vitality and combat effectiveness."
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