BEIJING – A Chinese military court on Thursday handed down suspended death sentences to two former defense ministers accused of bribery, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
The court ruled that Wei Fenghe was guilty of taking bribes and was sentenced to death with a two-year sentence. It said that Li Shangfu was guilty of taking and giving bribes and was given the same punishment.
In China, suspended death sentences are often commuted to life imprisonment.
The sentences are the latest in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s campaign to remove senior officials from office. Xi launched an anti-corruption campaign more than a decade ago and his campaign has continued unabated, culminating in the removal of China’s highest-ranking general and military leadership in January. China’s powerful Central Military Commission, which earlier had 11 members, now has only one member besides Xi.
While the campaign targets corruption, Xi has also used anti-corruption as a way to consolidate political loyalty and control among the political elite.
It is unclear whether either of them had policy or political disagreements with Xi.
Wei served as Minister of Defense from 2018 to 2023. Lee succeeded him but served only a few months before disappearing from public view. He was removed from the post in October 2023.
Li spent much of his career as an expert in the missile and procurement branches of China’s People’s Liberation Army, and faced travel and financial sanctions from the US on purchases of Russian military hardware.
The Communist Party expelled both men from its ranks in 2024, sealing their fate.
Dong Jun will serve as Defense Minister in Lee’s place. However, experts say he was not appointed to the once-powerful Central Military Commission, which oversees the military and is a standard appointment for someone in that role.
