Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, who previously held key positions as China’s defense ministers, have been found guilty of large-scale corruption schemes. A military court in China sentenced them to death with a two-year reprieve, which typically means that the punishment will be commuted to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or sentence reduction.
This is reported by Finway
Charges and Consequences
Wei Fenghe was sentenced for systematically accepting bribes, while Li Shangfu was charged with both accepting and giving bribes. In addition to imprisonment, both were permanently stripped of their political rights, and all their personal property is subject to confiscation. Investigations revealed that Li received “huge sums of money” as bribes and also bribed others for personal gain, neglecting his political duties. The investigation into Wei began in 2023 and uncovered that he not only received large sums of money and valuables but also facilitated appointments in personnel matters for improper benefits.
“His actions were extremely serious in nature, had extremely harmful consequences, and caused immense damage.”
Context of the Anti-Corruption Campaign
Both former ministers also held positions in the Central Military Commission and were members of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. Wei led the Ministry of Defense from 2018 to 2023, while Li served from March to October 2023, when he was suddenly removed after disappearing from the public eye. The court rulings are another step in a large-scale anti-corruption campaign initiated by President Xi Jinping, which in recent years has extended to the armed forces, including the elite Rocket Force of China, responsible for strategic nuclear weapons.
In 2023, investigations also affected other high-ranking officials: at the beginning of the current year, General Zhang Yuxia was dismissed, suspected of leaking classified information about China’s nuclear program to the U.S. Thus, the Chinese authorities continue to strengthen control over the military and political elites, trying to stop the spread of corruption at the highest levels of power.
It is worth noting that in China, a death sentence with a reprieve usually turns into life imprisonment if there are no violations during this period.
It should be recalled that during a military parade in Beijing, the power of China’s nuclear triad was recently demonstrated for the first time.