Li Sangfu, former Defense Minister; Li Yuchao, former commander of the Rocket Forces; and Sun Jinming, former chief of staff of the Rocket Forces, have all become subjects of judicial proceedings.
These top officials, responsible for modernizing the Chinese military, have all become subjects of legal action.
The third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which concluded on the 18th, confirmed their expulsion from the Communist Party through a closing statement. The statement announced that judicial proceedings, including investigations, will now proceed.
As members or candidate members of the Central Committee (Sun Jinming), their expulsion required approval from the Central Committee’s plenary session.
The Central Committee announced through a statement that “the plenary session reviewed and approved the resolution of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China on the serious discipline and legal violations of Li Sangfu, Li Yuchao, and Sun Jinming.”
Earlier, on the night of June 27, the Central Politburo, China’s highest authority, announced the expulsion of two former Defense Ministers, Li Sangfu and Wei Fenghe, from the Communist Party and informed that the Central Military Commission would proceed with an investigation.
The top generals of the Rocket Forces, who led the modernization of the Chinese military, are now facing legal action on corruption charges. This development signals instability within the Chinese army.
The general practice in China involves expelling members from the party, indicting them, and then proceeding with legal action—expulsion from the Communist Party results in the loss of social status and protection.
The expulsion announcement for former Defense Minister Li Sangfu by the Politburo of the Communist Party of China on June 27 underscores the severity of the consequences following party expulsion. The Xinhua News Agency reported the same day: “Li Sangfu, as a senior leader of the party and the military, abandoned his original intention and mission, lost the principles of party nature, and violated the trust of the party central and the Central Military Commission. His actions seriously polluted the political life and ethos in the military equipment and industrial fields, causing huge losses to the party’s cause, national defense, military construction, and the image of senior leaders. The nature is serious, the impact is bad, and the damage is great.”
