BEIJING: China’s Communist Party on Thursday expelled former defence minister Li Shangfu and his predecessor Wei Fenghe over corruption, state news agency Xinhua reported.
Li allegedly received huge sums of money in bribes and an inquiry found he did not fulfil his political responsibilities and sought personnel benefits for himself and others, said the report, citing the Communist Party’s Central Committee which ordered the probe.
The report said as a senior leading commander of the party and the army, Li Shangfu betrayed his main mission and also betrayed the trust of the Party Central Committee and Central Military Commission, causing great damage to the party and national defence.
Last year Reuters reported that Li was under investigation for corruption in military procurement. He was mysteriously removed as defence minister without explanation last October.
This is the first time China has openly confirmed that Li was facing an inquiry as well as details of the nature of his crimes.
Last year China’s military removed eleven PLA generals and executives of the aerospace defence industry from the national legislative body.
Li’s predecessor, Wei Fenghe had gone missing from public view since he was replaced last March during a planned cabinet reshuffle. He was head of the strategic People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force from 2015-17.
President Xi Jinping, who is also the military’s commander-in-chief, appointed a new head and political commissar of the Rocket Force last July.
An investigation launched against Wei last September found that he had accepted a huge amount of money and valuables in bribes.
The decision to strip Li and Wei of their party membership was approved by the seven-member Politburo, the Communist Party’s apex of power, on Thursday. The Politburo also transferred their cases to military prosecutors.
