China expels ousted defence ministers from Communist Party over graft allegations

In a broad and secretive crackdown within the country’s elite, China expelled two former defence ministers, Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe from the ruling Communist Party on Thursday on allegations of corruption.

The expulsions, announced by Chinese state media, signify a major shake-up in the upper echelons of the world’s largest military. Li, who mysteriously disappeared from public view last year, was removed from his ministerial role shortly before this expulsion.

Wei Fenghe, Li’s predecessor, had disappeared from public view since he was replaced last March during a planned cabinet reshuffle. Wei was head of the strategic People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force from 2015-17.

The apparent purge comes as Beijing clashes with the United States over the fate of Taiwan, and as the increasingly powerful President Xi Jinping consolidates his leadership.

China’s military has undergone a sweeping anti-corruption purge since last year, with eleven PLA generals and a handful of aerospace defence industry executives removed from the national legislative body to date. Xi has increasingly tightened his grip on power, leveraging anti-corruption campaigns to eliminate rivals and solidify his control.

State news agency Xinhua reported that both Li and Wei were expelled for “serious violations of party discipline and the law.” Their removal strips them of their credentials as delegates to the 20th Communist Party of China (CPC) National Congress, underscoring the severity of the party’s accusations and the far-reaching impact of this internal disciplinary action.

An investigation launched into Wei last September found that he had accepted ”a huge amount of money and valuables” in bribes and ”helped others gain improper benefits in personnel arrangements”, Xinhua reported, adding that his actions were ”extremely serious in nature, with a highly detrimental impact and tremendous harm”.

Both officials were also found to have other unspecified violations, the reports said without elaborating.

Xi last week said the PLA faces ”deep-seated” political problems and vowed there must be ”no hiding place” for corrupt officers.

With inputs from agencies.