China's Political Power List Hints at Fate of Disappeared Official

China's former Defense Minister Wei Fenghe was absent from a prominent list of retired Chinese political figures, fueling speculation about his fate.

Wei was missing from an official list of prominent retired officials published by the Chinese Communist Party that acknowledges the central figures of the Chinese political system. State broadcaster China Central Television broadcasted the list as part of Lunar New Year greetings.

Wei's predecessors, Chang Wanquan, Liang Guanglie, Cao Gangchuan, and Chi Haotian, were present on the list published on Wednesday, as first reported on Thursday by Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post. Newsweek independently confirmed that Wei Fenghe didn't appear on the list of prominent retired Chinese political figures.

In recent months, several leading military leaders from the People's Liberation Army's Rocket Force have also been replaced in recent months without explanation. Experts believe there is an extensive anti-corruption-related investigation currently underway in China's military and diplomatic circles, Newsweek previously reported.

Wei served as the defense minister of China from March 2018 until January 2023, replaced by former Defense Minister Li Shangfu. Wei officially retired that month.

He also previously served as the commander of Xi's elite Rocket Force, in charge of Beijing's nuclear arsenal, which has been mired in corruption allegations in recent months.

The scrutiny of Wei's absence from the list comes as China's leading military and diplomatic figures, including the former Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Foreign Defense Minister Li Shangfu, have disappeared from public view without explanation.

Qin and Li were officially removed from the State Council, China's chief administrative authority, according to state broadcaster CCTV, in October 2023. No official explanations were provided for their dismissal.

Newsweek reached out to the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., via email for comment on Wei's absence from the list.

Earlier in the year, Chinese leader Xi Jinping called the problem of corruption within the Chinese political system an ongoing effort.

"After 10 years of unrelenting and powerful anti-corruption efforts in the new era, we have achieved an overwhelming victory and have comprehensively consolidated our achievements. However, the situation remains dire and complex," Xi told the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection members, the Communist Party's highest supervisory body.

Ou Si-fu, a research fellow and division director at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, Taiwan's top military think tank, told Newsweek in a recent interview that corruption in the People's Liberation Army remains rampant.

"During the last two decades, Beijing has poured many budgets and resources into defense modernization. Owing to a shortage of transparency, many officials have cut a big slice of this defense fat for private purposes," Ou said.