China’s ruling Communist Party has expelled two former defense ministers on corruption charges. This ends speculation about their fate after the defense hierarchy was shocked by a series of purges.
The 24-member Politburo decided during a meeting on Thursday to fire Li Shangfu and his predecessor Wei Fenghe, state television said. Both men took bribes, failed to cooperate with investigations and set bad examples, the report said.
Wei, who “accepted huge sums of money”, served as defense minister from 2018 to 2023 before being replaced by Li, who was abruptly fired in October after just seven months in the role – becoming the country’s shortest-serving defense minister.
