China Gives Death Penalty to Two Corrupt Former Defense Ministers

China has sentenced former defense ministers Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu to death with a two-year reprieve on corruption charges, state news agency Xinhua reported.

The sentences highlight the intensity of the Chinese government’s ongoing anti-corruption campaign within the military.

The Chinese armed forces have been a major focus of President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on corruption since he took power in 2012. The campaign expanded into the elite Rocket Force in 2023, targeting the branch responsible for both nuclear weapons and conventional missiles.

Earlier this year, the purge widened further with the removal of Zhang Youxia, the top general in the People’s Liberation Army and a Politburo member who had long been viewed as a close ally of Xi.

Previous reports from Xinhua said Li Shangfu was accused of accepting “huge sums of money” in bribes and bribing others. Investigators also found that Li “did not fulfill political responsibilities” and “sought personnel benefits for himself and others.”

An investigation launched into Wei Fenghe in 2023 found that he had accepted “a huge amount of money and valuables” in bribes and helped others gain “improper benefits in personnel arrangements,” according to Xinhua’s 2024 report.

The agency said Wei’s actions were “extremely serious in nature, with a highly detrimental impact and tremendous harm.”

Under Chinese law, a death sentence with a two-year reprieve is usually reduced to life imprisonment if the offender commits no further crimes during the suspension period.

After commutation, both men will remain imprisoned for life without the possibility of parole or further sentence reduction, Xinhua said.