A senior Chinese military official on Saturday asked the military to answer Chinese President Hu Jintao's call to fight corruption, following the exposure of one of the country's most serious military scandals.

"All levels of military personnel should earnestly study President Hu's speech, to raise the sense of responsibility of fulfilling our military's mission," said Xu Caihou, Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission.

Addressing a ceremony attended by China's key military figures to mark the CPC's 85th anniversary, Xu said the military should unswervingly uphold the CPC's leadership, strengthen self-discipline and strictly abide by the Party rules.

On Friday, Chinese President Hu Jintao, also chairman of the Central Military Commission, called for intensified anti-corruption efforts at a grand rally in Beijing to mark the 85th founding anniversary of the CPC, that falls on Saturday.

Hu stressed the Party members should take effective measures and make painstaking efforts to combat corruption.

The call came a day after the former deputy chief of the navy, Wang Shouye, was expelled from China's national legislature for taking bribes and other irregularities.

Wang had already been stripped of the military post. It was one of the most serious military scandals involving high-ranking officers since New China was founded in 1949.

After Hu made his speech, various departments of the government asked their staff to study Hu's talk. His speech has also been printed and made into CDs and DVDs, which are on sale in major bookstores.

Source: Xinhua