BEIJING (AP) — China has expelled two former defense ministers from the ruling Communist Party over corruption charges that could lead to life sentences.
The defence ministry said on Thursday that Ri Sang-fu had violated military and party discipline by accepting bribes and abusing his power to enrich himself. Ri’s predecessor, Wei Fenghe, also faces similar charges.
Such allegations have been made before against many military leaders under the government of President and party leader Xi Jinping, who also heads the military as chairman of the Central Military Commission and has made a crackdown on corruption a hallmark of his administration since coming to power more than a decade ago.
Li is under investigation on suspicion of corruption and bribery, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday. be dismissed from one’s duties It is scheduled to be released in October 2023 after disappearing from public view for around two months.
Wei came under investigation in September for allegedly “helping to obtain improper personnel benefits and seriously violating political and organizational discipline,” according to Xinhua.
Xinhua said he was suspected of taking bribes after it found he “received large amounts of money and valuables in return,” adding that he had “lost his convictions and loyalty, tarnished the military’s political environment, and caused great damage to the party’s cause, the development of national defence and the armed forces, and the image of senior officials.”
Both men will be prosecuted under a judicial system run by the People’s Liberation Army, the military wing of the Communist Party.
Insiders claim there has been a widespread purge of officers suspected of colluding with outside forces or deemed not loyal enough to President Xi. Senior officers occupy high positions in Chinese politics and command wide privileges.
In a statement, the ministry did not provide any details about the charges against Li other than to say they were “extremely vicious” and “extremely dangerous.”
Ri, a missile and procurement specialist who spent most of his career, was under U.S. travel and financial sanctions over his purchases of Russian military equipment at the time of his disappearance last September.
That was around the same time that then-Foreign Minister Qin Gang and several top Rocket Force officials suddenly disappeared amid unproven allegations of wrongdoing.
Admiral Tung Jun replaced Li in December.
China has the world’s largest standing army and the largest navy, a rapidly growing nuclear arsenal that has not been tested in combat for half a century. The military is a highly politicized bureaucracy led by President Xi Jinping as head of the Party’s Central Military Commission, and the defense minister has a supporting role with little contact with his foreign colleagues.
