China has sentenced two defense ministers who were suspended for corruption
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Two Chinese defense ministers have been sentenced to death with two years suspended for corruption, in one of the heaviest sentences handed down to senior military officials in recent years.
Reuters reported that Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu received suspended death sentences on May 7 following convictions by a Chinese military court, according to media reports.
The decision underscores the deepening of President Xi Jinping’s long-standing campaign against corruption in the military, the source said.
According to a Xinhua News Agency official, Wei was convicted of accepting bribes, while Li was found guilty of accepting bribes, based on court documents.
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Wei Fenghe served as China’s defense minister from 2018 to 2023 (Adriano Machado / Reuters)
Both men were also stripped of their political rights for life and ordered to give up all their property.
Under Chinese law, a death sentence with a two-year parole is usually commuted to life imprisonment if the person does not commit any further crimes during the suspension.
In this case, the penalties will be reduced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or other commutation after the expiration of the grace period.
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Former Defense Minister Li Shangfu succeeded Wei (Caroline Chia / Reuters)
Wei Fenghe, 72, served as China’s defense minister from 2018 to 2023, while Li Shangfu, 68, held the post for just a few months in his stead.
Both men were state councilors and members of the Powerful Military Commission (CMC), the top military leadership body headed by Xi.
They previously led the People’s Liberation Army’s Rocket Force, a key branch established in 2015 as part of Xi’s military reforms.
The Rocket Force oversees China’s nuclear and conventional missile systems, making it one of the most important weapons in the military.
The sentences mark an escalation of Xi’s crackdown on corruption in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which has targeted senior officials since he took power in 2012.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping is accompanied by soldiers in uniform as the House Select Committee on China raises concerns about taxpayer dollars going to CCP-linked companies. (Li Gang/Xinhua)
The rift intensified in 2023, when the investigation reached the Rocket Force and other elite units.
Both Wei and Li were expelled from the ruling Communist Party in June 2024.
Singapore-based security expert James Char told Reuters the sentences were the heaviest for members of the Central Military Commission in recent history.
“The fact that Wei and Li were commuted to life imprisonment without parole or commutation underscores the seriousness of their crimes,” he said.
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The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a think tank based in London, had previously warned that the ongoing purge could weaken China’s military structure.
The organization said that it is possible that this campaign may have caused a disturbance that could affect the readiness of the country’s military which is developing rapidly.
