China Gives Suspended Death Sentences to 2 Ex-Defense Ministers

The sentences handed to Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe are the harshest in the Chinese Communist Party’s more than decade-long anti-corruption purges.

China's Minister of National Defence Li Shangfu delivers a speech during the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on June 4, 2023. (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP) Photo by ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Two former Chinese defense ministers accused of bribery have been sentenced to death with ​a two-year reprieve, according to state media.

The death sentences for Li Shangfu and his predecessor, Wei Fenghe, were issued by a Chinese military court on May 7, according to a brief report from state media Xinhua News Agency, which tightly controlled the flow of information out of the country.