China Sentences Former Defence Ministers Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu to Death With Reprieve in High-Profile Military Corruption Case
Former Chinese defence ministers Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu have been sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve on corruption charges, according to Xinhua. Military courts found Wei guilty of accepting bribes, while Li was convicted of both taking and offering bribes. The sentences are among the harshest handed to senior military officials since President Xi Jinping launched his anti-corruption campaign.
China has sentenced former defence ministers Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu to death with a two-year reprieve on corruption charges, according to a statement released by state news agency Xinhua on Thursday, May 7. A military court found Wei guilty of accepting bribes, while Li was convicted of both accepting and offering bribes. The statement did not disclose the amount of money involved in the cases.
Both men were sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, deprivation of political rights for life and confiscation of all personal property, Xinhua said. After the two-year reprieve period, the sentences would be commuted to life imprisonment without the possibility of commutation or parole, the report added. Mass Execution in China: 11 Core Members of Cross-Border Telecom Fraud Ring Executed.
The sentences are among the most severe handed to senior military officials since Chinese President Xi Jinping launched his sweeping anti-corruption campaign in 2012. Li Shangfu served as China’s defence minister from March to October 2023, making him the country’s shortest-serving defence minister. Wei Fenghe held the same position from 2018 to 2023.
Beijing announced investigations into both men in June 2024. They were later expelled from the Communist Party following a decision by the party’s Politburo. Yoon Suk Yeol Sentenced to 7 Years by South Korea Court for Resisting Arrest, Bypassing Cabinet Before Martial Law.
Chinese authorities used unusually severe language while announcing the cases against the two former military leaders. According to the indictment released in 2024, Wei became the only senior Chinese general implicated in Xi’s anti-corruption campaign to be described as “zhongcheng shi jie” or “being disloyal and losing one’s chastity”, a phrase often interpreted as betraying the Communist Party or being compromised by hostile forces. “His faith has collapsed and he has lost his chastity,” the readout said.
Authorities accused Wei of failing to justify the trust placed in him by the Communist Party. His actions were said to have “severely polluted the political environment of the armed forces, causing immense damage to the party’s cause, national defence and military development, and the image of senior leading cadres”.
In the investigation announcement concerning Li Shangfu, authorities accused him not only of accepting and offering bribes but also of “severely polluting the political environment of the military equipment sector’s atmosphere”. The statement described the corruption involving both officials as being “of extremely serious nature, caused extremely egregious impact and exceptionally detrimental harm”.
The convictions are part of a broader anti-corruption drive within China’s military establishment under Xi Jinping. Over the past decade, several senior military officers and defence officials have faced investigations, expulsions from the Communist Party and criminal prosecution.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 07, 2026 04:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).