BEIJING — Two former Chinese defense ministers have been handed suspended death sentences after they were found guilty of corruption, according to state media.A military court on Thursday sentenced Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu to death with a two-year reprieve.The court found Wei guilty of accepting bribery, while Li was found guilty of both accepting and offering bribes, according to a two-paragraph statement released by Xinhua news agency.The statement did not specify the bribe amounts involved in the cases.After the two-year reprieve period, their sentences would be commuted to life imprisonment without the possibility of commutation or parole, it added.Both men were also sentenced to deprivation of political rights for life and confiscation of all personal property, the statement said.The announcement follows the recent ousting of several top military figures in the country amid a sweeping anti-corruption crackdown.Wei served as defense minister from 2018 to 2023 and was replaced by Li in March 2023. Li was dismissed in October 2023, two months after he suddenly disappeared from public life, sparking speculation of his removal.Beijing announced that an investigation was launched into Li in August 2023 and Wei in September 2023. They were subsequently expelled from the party and stripped of all military ranks and positions in June 2024.According to the harshly worded indictment, Wei became the only fallen top Chinese general to be described as “being disloyal and losing one’s chastity”, a euphemism for betraying the party, since President Xi Jinping started his anti-corruption campaign in 2012.In the investigation announcement regarding Li, in addition to accusations of both taking and offering bribery, he was accused of “severely polluting the political environment of the military equipment sector’s atmosphere”.The duo was accused of corruption that was “of extremely serious nature, caused extremely egregious impact and exceptionally detrimental harm”.Chinese defense ministers play a different role to their foreign counterparts. They are mostly military diplomats who have limited command power and a low rank in the party’s Central Military Commission, which is headed by Xi.A slew of top Chinese generals have been put under investigation in recent years, including former CMC deputy chairmen Zhang Youxia and He Weidong, as well as former CMC members Liu Zhenli and Miao Hua.Xi has gone after bigger military figures before, with two former vice-chairmen of the commission under his predecessor – Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong – sacked for corruption. However, both were subjected to investigation after their retirement.Before Thursday’s verdict and sentencing, Guo, along with Fang Fenghui, former chief of Joint Staff of the People’s Liberation Army, had received the most severe sentences given to military leaders under Xi. They were both jailed for life, in 2016 and 2019, respectively.
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