BEIJING — A senior Chinese general who was under investigation for bribery has killed himself, state media said Tuesday, a development that cast a shadow over President Xi Jinping’s expanding crackdown on corruption and dissent.

The general, Zhang Yang, was found dead in his home in Beijing after hanging himself on Nov. 23, the state-run Xinhua news agency said, citing China’s Central Military Commission. The report said General Zhang was living at home while being questioned in connection with corruption charges.



Suicides by top officials are almost unheard-of in China, and the ruling Communist Party appeared uncertain how to handle the death. State-run media gave no explanation for the five-day delay in disclosing the news, and accompanied reports of the suicide with condemnations of General Zhang as a traitor and coward for taking his own life.

“In committing suicide to avoid punishment from the party and the country’s laws, Zhang Yang’s action was abominable,” said a commentary released by the People’s Liberation Army Daily, the military’s official newspaper. The commentary called General Zhang “two-faced” and his suicide “shameful.”