Chinese state media on Thursday confirmed the expulsion of former defence ministers Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu from the Communist Party, saying they were under criminal investigation for alleged “serious breaches of discipline and violations of the law”.
Wei Fenghe is due to step down from China’s Central Military Commission (CMC) in October 2022 and retire as defense minister in early 2023, but due to his age, there is apparently no room for debate. Successful They fired him in March 2023, but he suddenly disappeared in August before being accused of unspecified misconduct while on the job.
The Communist Party did not explain at the time why Li had suddenly disappeared from office. In August, Beijing suddenly announced that genocidal dictator Xi Jinping had removed Li from his position, an ominous sign that he might face corruption charges. Although China faces multiple significant military challenges (most of them on its borders, where the Communist Party regularly violates the sovereignty of its neighbors), Chinese authorities have chosen to ensure that no one holds the position of defense minister. announcement The incumbent, Dong Jun, was appointed in December.
China’s newly elected defense minister, General Li Shangfu, takes the oath during a session of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, March 12, 2023. (Andy Wong/Associated Press)
Chinese government newspaper China Daily on friday report The two former ministers are being investigated “based on clues uncovered in cases handled by the Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Central Military Commission,” it said.
“Both Li and Wei seriously violated political and organizational discipline and resisted organizational oversight, according to the statement.” China Daily continuation.
Li reportedly also engaged in other corrupt practices, including “seeking improper personnel benefits” and accepting bribes.
The media report added that Wei “is suspected of accepting gifts and money in violation of regulations, using his position to benefit others, receiving large amounts of money, and accepting bribes.”
The allegations are notable for their similarity, even though Wei has served as defense minister for longer – about five years since 2018 – than Li, who took office in March and disappeared in December.
China DailyCiting the Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency, it declared the two men to be apostates to Communism, saying: [their] “Faith and loyalty” to the Communist Party.
The US-based Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on Friday that the criminal investigation appears to be part of a larger purge by President Xi Jinping that also includes several other senior military officials. include Two generals in the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Forces of China. South China Morning Post Listed “Nine generals, including former and current commanders of the PLA Rocket Force and Air Force, as well as several senior officials from the Central Military Commission in the equipment development department” were purged in December.
Even before the December mass firings, Japan’s Nikkei newspaper had reported that President Xi Jinping’s “great purge of the military” had taken place in October. Nikkei was one of the few newspapers to point out the oddity that Wei Fenghe had completely disappeared from public life since his retirement, rather than appearing at occasional ceremonies. Wei Fenghe: absenceThe dinner was an annual gathering of active and retired military personnel, and Ri Sang-bo was one of several top leaders, including the president, who did not attend, according to the media.
Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe salutes after delivering the opening speech at the Xiangshan Forum, a gathering of security officials from the region, in Beijing, Monday, Oct. 21, 2019. (Andy Wong, File/The Associated Press)
Like RFA, the Nikkei newspaper reported that the Rocket Forces, which is responsible for nuclear weapons, appear to be at the center of the purge.
“The 69-year-old Wei was Li’s predecessor as head of the Ministry of National Defense and a State Councilor. He is also the former commander of the Second Artillery Corps, the precursor to the Rocket Force, which oversees China’s nuclear and missile arsenals,” Nikkei recalled. “The Rocket Force has been shrouded in mystery recently, with its two top officials suddenly dismissed in late July.”
“It also emerged that many of the rocket force’s senior officers have been detained,” it added. “But Wei, who is now retired, is not even a member of the Central Military Commission, leaving observers to wonder what is behind his absence.”
Given the Communist Party’s secrecy, it is unclear whether these purges are related to the situation surrounding Li Shangfu, who was involved in arms procurement before becoming defense minister and whose disappearances in China have suggested he may have been using his position in lucrative arms deals to enrich himself.
Li’s disappearance coincided with the sudden disappearance of then-Foreign Minister Qin Gang. Having risen to the top diplomatic position as President Xi Jinping’s favorite despite his youth, Qin suddenly disappeared from public view in June 2023. While Li’s disappearance quietly sparked rumors of corruption, the Chinese government circulated rumors about Qin on the regime-controlled social media app Weibo. The most commonly shared rumor was that Qin had illicitly fathered an American child with a journalist. The Chinese government announced in July that Qin had lost his position as foreign minister, without providing any concrete explanation, and has not been seen in public since.
