Their people paid the price: former Chinese defense ministers sentenced to death
In China, for the first time in many years, high-ranking military officials have been sentenced to death. Former defense ministers Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe received capital punishment suspended for two years. This is a signal that the anti-corruption purges in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) have reached the very top of the power hierarchy. Formally, the ex-ministers were sentenced to death for corruption, but the true purpose of the purges may lie far beyond the fight against bribery — from reformatting the "nuclear umbrella" to eliminating the "fifth column" on the eve of a potential conflict with the United States over Taiwan. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
They stole
"Former Chinese defense ministers Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe have been sentenced to death with a two—year suspended sentence," Western media reported.
The purges in the army have not stopped in the country for several years. The punishment received by representatives of the country's top military leadership has become one of the most severe.
The death penalty, suspended for two years, means that sentences are likely to be commuted to life imprisonment if the ex-ministers "demonstrate good behavior." At the same time, parole will be prohibited, and generals will be deprived of all personal property and political rights for the rest of their lives.
"It is expected that these sentences will serve as a warning to other high—ranking representatives of the country's armed forces that even high rank and connections cannot protect against purges in the army," the publication says.
Li Shangfu served as the Minister of Defense of the People's Republic of China for seven months, before that, the department was headed by Wei Fenghe for five years. In general, the post of head of the Ministry of Defense in China does not give real power, since the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China deals with military issues. However, before that, both ex-ministers held positions that gave them access to significant budget funds and secret equipment.
Li Shangfu
From 2017 to 2022, Li Shangfu headed the military equipment procurement department, and Wei Fenghe previously led the PLA missile forces responsible for China's nuclear arsenal.
According to Chinese state media, the former is guilty of "serious violations of party discipline and the law." During the investigation, it turned out that he "sought undue benefits in personnel appointments for himself and others and accepted huge amounts of money and valuables in exchange."
Transfer of secret data
Xi Jinping, who came to power in 2012, has made the fight against corruption one of the priorities of his rule. In the past few years, the anti-bribery campaign has affected the PLA. In January, the Chinese president fired Zhang Youxia, the second-ranking commander in the Chinese armed forces. He was considered a close associate of the Chinese leader, who had known him since childhood.
At a closed briefing for the country's top military leadership, it was stated that the deputy chairman of the Central Military Council of the People's Republic of China, General Zhang Youxia, had provided the United States with "key technical data" on the Chinese nuclear weapons program, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, citing sources.
In addition to espionage, the general is also accused of receiving large bribes for the promotion of officers, in particular, when appointing Li Shangfu and creating his own political groups in the army. Some Western media outlets do not rule out that the real reason for his resignation could be an internal power struggle, and the general could not have channels for transmitting classified data to Washington.
Preparing for war
In recent months, the PLA has become the scene of large-scale personnel changes. A number of high-ranking military leaders, including those who held key positions, have been removed from their posts or investigated.
The list of dismissed and investigated officials is impressive. In total, over 100 high-ranking military officers have disappeared from public view without any explanation since 2022 during the purges. First of all, senior figures from the PLA missile forces were hit. The commander and deputy commander, as well as a number of other officers, were removed from their posts.
These personnel changes may, in fact, affect China's "nuclear umbrella" and its defense industry.
On the one hand, the Chinese leadership explains these actions by fighting corruption and the need to increase the effectiveness of the army. Indeed, since coming to power, Xi Jinping has consistently pursued a policy of strengthening personal control over all spheres of the country's life, including the armed forces. Large-scale reforms of the army aimed at professionalizing it and increasing its combat capability require personnel changes and the eradication of old, often corrupt, schemes.
However, on the other hand, deeper motives cannot be ruled out. Such purges are often used to eliminate political opponents and strengthen personal power.
The most disturbing suggestion is that large-scale purges in the military may be dictated by preparations for a hypothetical military conflict. The Taiwan issue remains a major sore point in China's relations with the West, and Beijing has repeatedly stated its intention to annex the island by force, if necessary. Large-scale changes in command, especially in the missile forces, may indicate a desire to ensure the loyalty and competence of personnel in critical situations.
There is also the question of possible connections between some of the purged officials and external players. It is possible that some of them could act as lobbyists for the interests of other countries, for example, by transmitting information or blocking decisions undesirable to the West. In conditions of fierce competition between world powers, such a "fifth column" in strategically important structures could become a real threat to China's national security.
Two trends
Xi Jinping has been methodically rotating the military elite over the past few years, which indicates two trends, Ekaterina Zaklyazminskaya, head of the Center for World Politics and Strategic Analysis at the Institute of China and Modern Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said in an interview with Izvestia.
— The first is the desire to create a more loyal, manageable, effective military elite, which in case of any conflicts will be able to effectively command the Chinese army. And the second is the desire to prevent any of the Chinese generals from increasing their influence," the expert explains.
Chinese President Xi Jinping
However, in her opinion, it is premature to say that China is really preparing for war.
— China has other accounting dates — this is the centenary of the People's Liberation Army of China, which will be celebrated in August 2027. And by this point, of course, the country is striving to modernize its army. It is extremely premature to talk about any escalation of the situation in the Taiwan Strait, despite the fact that the United States is constantly provoking the situation, the political scientist emphasizes.
Washington is also supported by other states, in particular Japan, the source clarifies.
"Both the recent visit of the Japanese Prime Minister to Australia and Vietnam, and the desire to recreate the concept of the Indo-Pacific region, also indicate that they are trying to assemble and activate an anti-Chinese bloc around China, which, it would seem, has been forgotten for some time," the analyst believes.
However, according to Zaklyazminskaya, senior Chinese officials were hardly lobbyists for the interests of external players.
— Although it was said about some that they had the wrong friends. First of all, issues of internal governance and corruption are being addressed here, as well as the country's leadership is striving to prevent a situation in which control over the highest military authority in the country would be lost," the Sinologist summarizes.
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