Hong Kong Media: Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu Denied Commutation, Reflecting Military Commander's Deep Hatred
Two former Chinese defense ministers, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, were simultaneously sentenced last week to death with a two-year reprieve, followed by life imprisonment without parole for corruption. Media analysis suggests that the inability to commute their sentences reflects the military commander's deep hatred for them, serving as a strong warning to corrupt elements within the military. Their corruption amount is estimated to be between 200 million and 1 billion RMB.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 11, 2026 at 10:19
- 🔍 Collected: May 11, 2026 at 10:31 (12 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 12, 2026 at 04:53 (18h 22m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporter Zhang Qian, Hong Kong, May 11) Two former Chinese defense ministers, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, were simultaneously sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve last week for corruption, followed by life imprisonment without parole. Media analysis suggests that the inability to commute their sentences reflects the military commander's deep hatred for them.
Wei and Li were sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve last week, but with life imprisonment, no commutation, and no parole.
Ming Pao published an article today analyzing that this verdict breaks the record for sentencing senior generals in the People's Liberation Army's anti-corruption storm. Previously, the two most heavily sentenced military commission leaders were former Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Guo Boxiong and former Chief of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission Fang Fenghui, who were successively sentenced to life imprisonment for corruption in 2016 and 2019.
The article points out that Gu Junshan, former Deputy Head of the General Logistics Department of the PLA, was considered a "military mega-corrupt official." He was sentenced to death with a reprieve in 2015 for five crimes, including corruption and embezzlement, but his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, which allowed for further commutation, unlike Wei and Li, who are denied commutation.
The article believes that Guo Boxiong, Fang Fenghui, and Gu Junshan belonged to the previous era. Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, who were heavily promoted in the new era, received a "top-level heavy sentence," reflecting the military commander's deep hatred for them and serving as a warning to corrupt elements in the military.
The article also states that, according to the order of their downfall, the next military commission leaders to be tried will be former Director of the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission Miao Hua, former Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission He Weidong, followed by Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission Zhang Youxia, and Chief of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission Liu Zhenli; their sentences are already "written on the wall," believed to be life imprisonment or heavier.
Regarding the amount of corruption by Wei and Li, the article states that all PLA corruption cases are tried in military courts, with details not disclosed to the public and corruption amounts not announced. However, since the 18th Party Congress, officials executed for corruption have had bribe amounts exceeding 1 billion yuan, such as Lai Xiaomin, former chairman of China Huarong, who corrupted over 3 billion yuan, and Bai Tianhui, former general manager of Huarong International, who received nearly 1.8 billion yuan in bribes.
The article states that on the day Wei and Li were sentenced, Zhou Xi'an, former vice chairman of the Anhui Provincial Political Consultative Conference, was also sentenced to death with a reprieve for accepting 134 million yuan in bribes. According to past cases, the amount of bribes for a "death sentence with reprieve plus life imprisonment" typically ranges between 200 million and 1 billion yuan, and it is believed that Wei and Li's bribe amounts also fall within this range. (Editor: Lu Jiarong) 1150511
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(Central News Agency reporter Zhang Qian, Hong Kong, May 11) Two former Chinese defense ministers, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, were simultaneously sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve last week for corruption, followed by life imprisonment without parole. Media analysis suggests that the inability to commute their sentences reflects the military commander's deep hatred for them.
Wei and Li were sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve last week, but with life imprisonment, no commutation, and no parole.
Ming Pao published an article today analyzing that this verdict breaks the record for sentencing senior generals in the People's Liberation Army's anti-corruption storm. Previously, the two most heavily sentenced military commission leaders were former Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Guo Boxiong and former Chief of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission Fang Fenghui, who were successively sentenced to life imprisonment for corruption in 2016 and 2019.
The article points out that Gu Junshan, former Deputy Head of the General Logistics Department of the PLA, was considered a "military mega-corrupt official." He was sentenced to death with a reprieve in 2015 for five crimes, including corruption and embezzlement, but his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, which allowed for further commutation, unlike Wei and Li, who are denied commutation.
The article believes that Guo Boxiong, Fang Fenghui, and Gu Junshan belonged to the previous era. Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, who were heavily promoted in the new era, received a "top-level heavy sentence," reflecting the military commander's deep hatred for them and serving as a warning to corrupt elements in the military.
The article also states that, according to the order of their downfall, the next military commission leaders to be tried will be former Director of the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission Miao Hua, former Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission He Weidong, followed by Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission Zhang Youxia, and Chief of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission Liu Zhenli; their sentences are already "written on the wall," believed to be life imprisonment or heavier.
Regarding the amount of corruption by Wei and Li, the article states that all PLA corruption cases are tried in military courts, with details not disclosed to the public and corruption amounts not announced. However, since the 18th Party Congress, officials executed for corruption have had bribe amounts exceeding 1 billion yuan, such as Lai Xiaomin, former chairman of China Huarong, who corrupted over 3 billion yuan, and Bai Tianhui, former general manager of Huarong International, who received nearly 1.8 billion yuan in bribes.
The article states that on the day Wei and Li were sentenced, Zhou Xi'an, former vice chairman of the Anhui Provincial Political Consultative Conference, was also sentenced to death with a reprieve for accepting 134 million yuan in bribes. According to past cases, the amount of bribes for a "death sentence with reprieve plus life imprisonment" typically ranges between 200 million and 1 billion yuan, and it is believed that Wei and Li's bribe amounts also fall within this range. (Editor: Lu Jiarong) 1150511
Choose to stand with the facts, every sponsorship you make is a force to protect press freedom.
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The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.