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The two generals have been accused of accepting massive bribes and corruption affecting the arms sector, indicating that the country’s military has shed its old habits.
By Chris Buckley
Reporting from Taipei, Taiwan
Chinese leaders on Thursday accused two former defense ministers of accepting “huge” bribes and corruption that undermined promotions in the country’s military and weapons production complex.
Two announcements through the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo, a council of 24 senior officials, have denounced crimes and insubordination against Gen. Li Shangfu, defense minister for much of last year, and Gen. Wei Fenghe, minister from 2018 to 2018-2023. The statements suggested that more heads could roll as part of the expanded investigations.
Since last year, there has been speculation that Chinese leader Xi Jinping has opened investigations into corruption and misconduct by the military, after senior officials in the People’s Liberation Army’s Rocket Force were replaced or disappeared. The dismissal of General Li as defense minister in October, after he had disappeared from public attention for months, added weight to the rumors. But only now have Chinese leaders revealed the diversity of allegations involved in the investigations.
The announcement about General Li said that he had accepted bribes in exchange for abuses of his powers, adding through corrupt decisions of the workers’ body, and that he had bribed others and attempted to obstruct the investigation into him. The announcement about General Wei contained similar allegations and claimed that he had been robbed of valuables and cash.
Both men have been stripped of their army ranks and expelled from the Communist Party, and their cases have been passed on to army prosecutors, meaning, almost inevitably, that they will be tried, found guilty and sentenced to harsh sentences, or even to death. penalty, if found guilty. The crimes are especially serious. The statements also recommend that his misdeeds amounted to a betrayal of Mr. Xi, who is chairman of the Central Military Commission and head of the party.
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