China 'decides to investigate' retired general Guo Boxiong

Beijing has decided to launch an investigation into retired military chief Guo Boxiong and has briefed serving top brass on the general's alleged problems, two independent sources close to senior military officials said.

Speculation over Guo intensified early last month after his son, Major General Guo Zhenggang, was detained in a graft probe, amid President Xi Jinping's high-profile crackdown on corruption in the People's Liberation Army.

If pursued, Guo, formerly a vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, would be the second top officer from former president Hu Jintao's administration to fall.

Former general Xu Caihou, who also served as vice-chairman alongside Guo on the CMC, was detained in a corruption probe in March last year and expelled from the Communist Party in October. He died of cancer last month while awaiting prosecution. Military prosecutors had said they would continue to go after other allegedly corrupt officers linked to Xu.

One of the sources told the that leaders of the PLA's seven key military area commands were ordered to attend an ideological workshop in Beijing on April 9, with an internal document saying the CMC and the army's anti-graft watchdog had decided to investigate Guo and his family.

"The large military area commands' two top leaders - commanders and political commissars - were requested to take part in the meeting," the source said.

The workshop - a regular meeting for military leaders to study Xi's military philosophy - conveyed an updated political message from the incumbent CMC chairman, the source said.