Former Chinese minister of national defense Wei Fenghe (魏鳳和) was missing from a list of retired cadres who received greetings from the top leadership, an unusual omission following a sweeping purge of military officials.
Wei was left off the list of about 130 senior retired officials greeted ahead of the Lunar New Year, an annual practice by the government. All four of his living predecessors appeared on the list published by the state-run Xinhua news agency on Wednesday.
The former People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force commander also failed to attend a Jan. 29 new year’s gala for Beijing-based military retirees attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Wei served as defense minister from 2018 until last year before being replaced by Li Shangfu (李尚福), who was abruptly ousted in October last year.
Photo: AFP
A sweeping graft probe has ensnared more than a dozen senior defense figures in recent months, in what might be China’s largest crackdown on the country’s military in modern history. Several of those officials have ties to the Rocket Force that oversees the nation’s nuclear arsenal.
US intelligence now indicates that widespread corruption has undermined Chinese military capabilities, Bloomberg News reported last month.
The PLA has not made any formal announcement about Wei since his retirement in March. He was replaced by Li, who was not expected to be included on the annual greeting list, as he still holds a party position and is not considered retired.
Wei rose through the ranks of the Rocket Force and its predecessor, known as the Second Artillery Corps, a unit that manages the country’s nuclear arsenal. He became the first commander of the Rocket Force when it was formed in 2015 amid a military revamp spearheaded by Xi.
Two subsequent Rocket Force commanders after Wei, Zhou Yaning (周亞寧) and Li Yuchao (李玉超), were ousted from the national parliament in December last year due to “serious violations,” an official document said.
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