Exclusive | Was fallen Chinese defence minister Wei Fenghe compromised by hostile force?
- A rare form of words that the Communist Party normally only applies to those accused of betrayal was used in the indictment against him
China’s fallen former defence minister Wei Fenghe may have been compromised by a hostile force as the peculiar wording of the official indictment hinted.
In an unprecedented move, Wei, along with his successor Li Shangfu, was officially impeached by the Politburo headed by President Xi Jinping on June 27. The duo were expelled from the party and could face further legal action.
While Beijing has not revealed details of their offences, one particular phrase from the official impeachment against Wei caught the attention of seasoned Chinese experts.
Of the all top generals who fell in Xi’s war against corruption, Wei was the only one described as “zhongcheng shi jie” or “ being disloyal and losing one’s chastity”.
The hard-to-translate phrase “shi jie” has its origins in Chinese history, where it was used to describe the moral degradation of the scholar-gentry who formed the ruling class.
In the fourth century BC the word “jie” was a bamboo or bronze sceptre representing royal authority – while “shi” means to lose – so a betrayal or defection would imply the loss of this jie.