Death Sentences for Two Former Chinese Defence Ministers over Corruption

A Chinese military court has imposed the death penalty on two former Ministers of Defence. Both were sentenced to death for corruption acts.

On Thursday (7 May), the Chinese military court handed down death sentences to Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu with a two-year suspension.

This means their death sentences will be commuted to life imprisonment after two years, without the possibility of reduction or conditional release, according to a report from the Xinhua news agency.

In addition, the court decided to confiscate all their personal assets.

Both men were found guilty of accepting bribes.

This announcement follows the removal of several senior military figures in China amid a crackdown on corruptors.

Profiles of Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu

Wei Fenghe served as defence minister from 2018 to 2023. He was replaced by Li Shangfu in March 2023.

Li’s tenure as defence minister was much shorter. He was dismissed in October 2023, two months after suddenly disappearing from public life, which sparked speculation about his removal.

The Reuters news agency, citing the Xinhua report, stated that Li was suspected of receiving “a large amount of money” in bribes and bribing others.

The report added that the investigation found he “failed to fulfil political responsibilities” and “sought personal gain for himself and others”.

Meanwhile, an investigation launched against Wei in 2023 found that he also received “a large amount of money and valuables” as bribes and “helped others obtain undue benefits in personnel arrangements”.

In February, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a crackdown within the military. Recently, the country’s highest-ranking military general, Zhang Youxia, was removed from his position.

Xi stated at the time that the military had “undergone revolutionary forging in the fight against corruption”.

Since taking power, President Xi has launched a wave of anti-corruption campaigns, which critics say are also used as a tool to eliminate political rivals.

Similar previous cases

Since assuming the presidency in 2013, Xi Jinping has institutionalised an anti-corruption campaign, which has also been used to sideline political rivals. In September 2025, Tang Renjian, former Chinese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, was sentenced to death in a bribery case.

Tang received bribes including cash and property worth more than 268 million yuan (Rp627.3 billion) in various positions he held from 2007 to 2024, according to a report from the state news agency Xinhua. The court in Changchun, Jilin Province, suspended his death sentence for two years, noting that the individual had confessed to his crimes.

Then, in 2017, a senior Chinese general was reported to have committed suicide after being investigated in an alleged corruption case. The official Xinhua news agency reported that General Zhang, aged 66, was found dead by hanging at his home on 23 November 2017.

General Zhang Yang, a member of the Central Military Commission of China, was investigated in connection with two high-ranking military officers who had been expelled from the party due to corruption cases.

At the Communist Party of China Congress in October, President Xi Jinping vowed to intensify anti-corruption efforts, which have ensnared 1.5 million party officials—including high-ranking military officers—since being launched in 2012.