China, death sentences (suspended) for former Defence Ministers Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu

China's Central Military Commission, decimated by the purges, is in the firm hands of Zhang Shengmin the head of military anti-corruption and, above all, of President Xi Jinping who presides over it in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of Defence. The urgency, in fact, more than replacing empty posts in the highest military decision-making body, for Xi Jinping is to complete the purge, sealing the open investigations with exemplary sentences.

This is why the axe has fallen on the necks of two former Defence Ministers who have long been under investigation, victims of the first wave of purges of senior military leaders that began three years ago. Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu received the maximum sentence, a death sentence even if suspended, another exemplary move, a mixture of firmness and clemency considering that the wind of anti-corruption is blowing strongly on the military side: the latest victim, an excellent one, was army chief Zhang Youxia, who ended up under investigation with General Liu Zhenli.

An example must be set for the current leadership. The Party is now in full control of the Armed Forces, because the fall of the army chief has demolished the Central Military Commission with five members yet to be replaced.

The fate of Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, regardless of everything, including their closeness to Xi Jinping, was sealed by the Fourth Plenum, which sealed a provisional settlement of accounts, propelling General Zhang Shengmin, the head of military anti-corruption who had led the investigation into nine colleagues accused of serious violations, to the top defence post: He Weidong, Miao Hua, He Hongjun, Wang Xiubin, Lin Xiangyang, Qin Shutong, Yuan Huazhi, Wang Chunning and Zhang Fengzhong, who were expelled from the Party, while Zhang Shengmin, a career military officer, was appointed deputy of the Central Military Commission.

Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, had been the first pawns to fall. 'Only a Party that thrives can make our country strong,' was the phrase that closed the Plenum.