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China’s Former Defense Ministers Sentenced to Death With Reprieve: The Reason and the Wider Implications

Until now, no one from the military top brass had received such severe punishments since early days of the anti-corruption campaign.

China’s then-Defense Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe addresses the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue on June 12, 2022.

After nearly two years of investigation, China officially announced on May 7 that former defense ministers and Central Military Commission (CMC) members Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu had been sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, along with the confiscation of all personal property. According to the official statement, Wei was found guilty of accepting bribes, while Li took and gave bribes. 

This marks a significant development in the ongoing People’s Liberation Army (PLA) purge. Until now, no one from the military top brass had received such severe punishments since early days of the anti-corruption campaign. What factors may have led to such harsh sentences and what are the broader implications for other PLA leaders? 

A death sentence with a two-year reprieve is usually reserved for serious crimes in China, including major corruption cases, premeditated murder, and large-scale drug trafficking. The last confirmed case of a high-ranking PLA officer to receive a suspended death sentence was Gu Junshan, former deputy director of the General Logistics Department, whose corruption case reportedly involved over 600 million yuan (approximately $98 million). Apparently, Gu helped anti-corruption investigators by “exposing others,” which earned him a death sentence with two-year reprieve rather than outright execution. He is now believed to be serving a life sentence in a military prison. 

Gu’s case triggered an avalanche of investigations within the PLA, causing the downfall of former CMC Vice Chairmen Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou. In 2017, the PLA Chief of Staff Fang Fenghui also fell from grace. Xu died awaiting sentencing, while Guo and Fang received life sentences rather than the heavier penalty of suspended death sentences. 

Like Gu, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu are unlikely to be executed after the reprieve period. Instead, their sentences will be commuted to life imprisonment. Despite their initial resistance against cooperating with investigators, Wei and Li likely caved and provided critical information on former colleagues. Such cooperation presumably spared them from execution, but will implicate more high- and mid-ranking PLA officers.........

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