Xi's anti-corruption crackdown sentences former Chinese defense ministers to death
New York Post • • world
Key Points:
- Two former Chinese defense ministers, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, were sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for corruption, marking one of the harshest punishments for senior military officials in recent years.
- Wei was convicted of accepting bribes, while Li was found guilty of both accepting and offering bribes; both were stripped of political rights for life and ordered to forfeit all personal property.
- The sentences reflect President Xi Jinping’s intensified anti-corruption campaign within the People’s Liberation Army, particularly targeting senior officials since 2012 and escalating in 2023.
- Wei and Li, former leaders of the strategic Rocket Force and members of the Central Military Commission, were expelled from the Communist Party in June 2024, with their sentences likely to be commuted to life imprisonment without parole.
- Security experts warn that the ongoing purges may be disrupting China’s military command structure and potentially affecting the readiness of its modernizing armed forces.