China sentences two former defense ministers to the death penalty

The sentences on corruption charges were handed down by China’s Military Justice. Wei was Chinese Defense Minister between 2018 and 2023 and Li held the position between March and October 2023.

Xinhua reported that Wei was convicted of the crime of accepting bribes, and Li was convicted of the crimes of accepting and offering bribes. The two former ministers also lost political rights for the rest of their lives and all their personal assets will be confiscated, the state agency added.

The death penalty with conditional suspension is a common legal institution in China and means that, if those convicted show good behavior and do not commit new crimes within the stipulated period (in the case of Wei and Li, two years), the sentence is commuted to life imprisonment.

The two former ministers were targets of a broad campaign of “purges” at the Chinese military summit promoted by dictator Xi Jinping.

This operation, which international analysts point out is motivated more by power struggles than by an effective fight against corruption, also affected senior commands of the Rocket Force, responsible for the country’s nuclear arsenal, and other high-ranking figures, such as former vice-presidents of the Central Military Commission (CMC) Zhang Youxia and He Weidong.