As China continues to purge out corruption from its Communist Party, the government has announced the expulsion of former defence ministers Li Shangu and his predecessor Wei Fenghe. As per news agency Xinhua, the two military officials have been expelled over "serious violations of discipline".
The CCP's statement of "serious violations of discipline" are often seen as a euphemism for corruption. In the past year, China has been working towards seeding out corruption within the party and the assembly.
In October 2023, Li Shangfu was removed from the post of defence minister without any explanation from the Xi Jinping government. Li has been missing from the public eye for at least a month before he was ousted from his post.
However, amid Li's disappearance, reports of the official being investigated for corruption had also started to surface.
Thursday's announcement of Shangfu's expulsion are the first official confirmation from the Communist party regarding the corruption allegations against the former defence minister.
As per Xinhua, Li was suspected of receiving "huge sums of money" in bribes and has also been accused of brining others. As per an investigation conducted by the Anti-Corruption cell, the former defence minister "did not fulfill political responsibilities" and "sought personnel benefits for himself and others".
"As a senior leading cadre of the party and the army, Li Shangfu betrayed his original mission ... betrayed the trust of the Party Central Committee and Central Military Commission... and caused great damage to the party cause and national defence," the report stated.
Wei Fenghe, on the other hand, had disappeared from public eye in March 2023 after he was replaced during a cabinet reshuffle. The report stated that Fenghe also "accepted a huge amount of money and valuables" in bribes and "helped others gain improper benefits in personnel arrangements".
China has carried out a major purge of its top military officials and diplomats since 2023. It began with the removal of foreign minister Qin Gang, who served for only seven months.
Following Gang's replacement, Shangfu disappeared and the communist government also removed around eleven PLA generals and a handful of aerospace defence industry executives from the national assembly.
