New Delhi: For the first time Thursday, Beijing announced corruption investigations against two former defence ministers and their dismissal from the Communist Party of China (CPC).
State-run news agency Xinhua reported that both Li Shangfu and his predecessor Wei Fenghe have been dismissed from the party and have been under probe since August and September last year, respectively.
“As a high-ranking official of the Party and the military, Li betrayed the Party’s original aspiration and its principles. His actions failed the trust of the Party Central Committee and the CMC (Central Military Commission), and severely contaminated the political environment of the equipment sector in the military and the ethics of relevant industries,” Xinhua said on the dismissal of Li.
Li also held the record of having the shortest tenure as the defence minister of China, serving a little over seven months, before disappearing from public view after 29 August, 2023.
CMC – the top military body in China – opened an investigation into Li’s conduct on 31 August, 2023.
“According to the investigation results, Li seriously violated political and organisational discipline. He sought improper benefits in personnel arrangements for himself and others, took advantage of his posts to seek benefits for others, and accepted a huge amount of money and valuables in return. He is suspected of the crime of taking bribes,” said Xinhua.
“He was also found to have offered money to others to seek undue benefits, constituting the suspected crime of offering bribes,” the report added.
Li was dismissed from his post in October 2023.
Wei, who was defence minister from 2018 to 2023, has also been dismissed from the CPC.
“As a high-ranking official of the Party and the military, Wei lost his faith and loyalty. His actions failed the trust of the Party Central Committee and the CMC, and severely contaminated the political environment of the military, bringing enormous damage to the Party’s cause, the development of national defence and the armed forces, as well as the image of senior officials,” said Xinhua.
An investigation against Wei was opened on 21 September, 2023, according to the news agency. He is also suspected of taking bribes during his tenure.
The dismissal of the former senior defence officials is part of Beijing’s anti-corruption drive against the Chinese armed forces. Senior officers, including retired and serving commanders of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, were removed from office last year.
Senior military officials were also dismissed from the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s legislative body, last December, according to the South China Morning Post.
No mention was made in any of Xinhua’s reports of Qin Gang, the former foreign minister of China, who has not been seen in public since June 2023. Qin was dismissed from his post in July last year, and was replaced with his predecessor Wang Yi.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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