China Sentences Ex-Defense Ministers to Death with Reprieve

A Chinese military court sentenced two former defense ministers, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, to death with a two-year reprieve on Thursday for bribery-related corruption charges, state media reported. The sentences will convert to life imprisonment without parole or reduction after two years, and both men had their personal assets confiscated and political rights stripped for life.

Wei Fenghe, 72, served as defense minister from 2018 to 2023. Li Shangfu, 68, succeeded him in March 2023 and held the post for less than eight months before his removal in October after weeks out of public view. Authorities announced investigations into both in June 2024 and expelled them from the Communist Party that year for serious violations of discipline. The court described their crimes as extremely serious, causing exceptional harm to the military and the party. Wei was convicted of accepting bribes, while Li was found guilty of both accepting and offering them.

The rulings form part of President Xi Jinping's ongoing anti-corruption campaign in the People's Liberation Army, which has targeted senior officers since he took power in 2012. Officials have pursued thousands of cases across the...