China's military newspaper has issued a stark warning against disloyalty within the armed forces, using the sentencing of two former defence ministers as a public example of the consequences of straying from the Communist Party's authority.
The PLA Daily published a commentary on Friday declaring that the People's Liberation Army must remain unwaveringly loyal to the party, following the handing down of tough sentences to former defence ministers Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu.
"The military wields the gun and there must be no one who harbours disloyalty to the party," the editorial stated, according to reporting by the South China Morning Post. "As senior party and military leaders, Wei and Li showed a collapse of faith."
First official disloyalty charge against Li
The commentary is significant in that it represents the first time an official Chinese outlet has explicitly accused Li Shangfu of disloyalty - a charge that goes beyond corruption and strikes at the political legitimacy of his conduct in office.
Li Shangfu served as defence minister for less than a year before disappearing from public view in 2023. He was formally removed from his position that October. Wei Fenghe, who preceded Li in the role, also came under investigation as part of what Beijing described as a broad anti-corruption campaign within the military.
Political message beyond the courtroom
The editorial's timing and framing suggest the sentences are being used not only as judicial outcomes but as political messaging directed at the broader military establishment. The PLA Daily, as the official newspaper of China's armed forces, carries significant institutional weight when it speaks on matters of military discipline and party loyalty.
The cases against Wei and Li are among the most high-profile to emerge from President Xi Jinping's ongoing anti-corruption drive, which has targeted officials across government, state enterprises, and the military over the past decade.
The focus on loyalty - rather than corruption alone - signals that Beijing views the conduct of both men as a fundamental challenge to the party's control over the military, a relationship that Xi has repeatedly described as the cornerstone of Chinese political stability.
Details of the specific sentences handed to Wei and Li have not been fully disclosed in public reporting.
