China announces suspended death sentences for former defence ministers

The announcement follows recent ousting of several top officials in China's military. Li Shangfu: China announces suspended death sentences for ex-defence ministers Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Li Shangfu served as the defence minister from March to October 2023 Li Shangfu salutes the audience before delivering a speech during the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on June 4, 2023 China announces suspended death sentences for former defence ministers Two former Chinese defence ministers have been handed suspended death sentences on corruption charges, according to state media. A military court on Thursday sentenced Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu to death with a two-year reprieve. This means their death sentences will be commuted to life imprisonment after two years, without the possibility of sentence reduction or parole, Xinhua reports. Both men were found guilty of bribery, and all of their personal assets were confiscated. The announcement follows the recent ousting of several top military figures in the country amid a sweeping anti corruption crackdown. Wei served as defence minister from 2018 to 2023 and was replaced by Li in March 2023. Li's tenure as defence minister was much shorter. He was dismissed in October 2023, two months after he suddenly disappeared from public life, sparking speculation of his removal. Reuters news agency quoted past reports in Xinhua which said that Li had been suspected of receiving "huge sums of money" in bribes as well as bribing others, adding that an investigation found he "did not fulfil political responsibilities" and "sought personal benefits for himself and others". Meanwhile, an investigation launched into Wei in 2023 is reported to have similarly found that he had accepted "a huge amount of money and valuables" in bribes and "helped others gain improper benefits in personnel arrangements". In February, Chinese President Xi Jinping made a rare public reference to the military crackdown that also recently saw the removal of the country's top military general, Zhang Youxia. Xi said at the time that the army had "undergone revolutionary tempering in the fight against corruption". Since coming to power, President Xi has launched waves of anti-corruption drives, which critics say have also been used as a tool to purge political rivals. Chandranath Rath was personal assistant to Suvendu Adhikari, front runner to become West Bengal's new chief minister. Japan's PM is pushing to revise country's pacifist constitution - and it's causing controversy. Wang Yi is holding talks with Iran's foreign minister Aragchi who is on his first trip to China since the war began. A blast at a fireworks factory in Hunan province has killed 26 people and injured 61, state media report. The Boeing 737 plane crashed into a Chinese hillside in 2022, killing all 132 people on board. It is unclear how he reached Eswatini. China described his visit as a "stowaway-style escape farce". The zero-tariff regime gives China's soft power a boost, but may lead to uneven gains, say analysts. Planting season is beginning in Asia - but the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and Chinese restrictions has hit fertiliser supply.