Defence Minister Li Shangfu, who has been missing from public view for more than two weeks, has been placed under investigation by Chinese authorities, according to 10 people familiar with the matter. The investigation into Li relates to procurement of military equipment, according to a regional security official and three people in direct contact with the Chinese military. Reuters was...
Defence Minister Li Shangfu, who has been missing from public view for more than two weeks, has been placed under investigation by Chinese authorities, according to 10 people familiar with the matter.
The probe into Li, who was appointed as defence minister in March, and the eight officials is being carried out by the military's powerful disciplinary inspection commission, those two people said. The Financial Times reported on Friday, citing US officials, that the US government believes Li has been placed under investigation. The Wall Street Journal cited a person close to decision making in Beijing as saying he had been taken away last week for questioning.
Li was last seen in Beijing on Aug 29 giving a key-note speech at a security forum with African nations. Earlier that month, he also visited Russia and Belarus. The probe into Li follows China's unexplained replacement of Foreign Minister Qin Gang in July after a prolonged absence from public view and a shake-up of the leadership of the People's Liberation Army's elite Rocket Force, which is responsible for conventional and nuclear missiles. Chinese officials initially said Qin's absence was also due to health reasons.
When asked last month by reporters to comment about the whereabouts of two other former senior military leaders who had not been recently seen in public and if they were under investigation, a Defence Ministry spokesman said the military has "zero-tolerance for corruption", without denying the possibility that they were the subject of a probe.