Wei Fenghe (; born February 1954) is a general (''

shang jiang (; ja, 将, Shō; ) is the rank held by general officers in some East Asian militaries. The ranks are used in both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China on Taiwan. The People's Liberation Army and the People's Armed Police use ...

'') in the People's Liberation Army who served as commander of the

PLA Rocket Force The People's Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF; ), formerly the Second Artillery Corps (), is the strategic and tactical missile force of the People's Republic of China. The PLARF is the 4th branch of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and ...

, formerly known as the Second Artillery Corps. He is Minister of National Defence, the first to have not come from the PLA Ground Forces and the first-ranked

State Councilor A state councillor () is a high-ranking position within the State Council, the executive organ of the Chinese government (comparable to a cabinet). It ranks immediately below the Vice-Premiers and above the ministers of various departments. ...

in Li Keqiang Cabinet II from March 2018, and also the first-ranked ordinary Member of the

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...

-chaired Central Military Commission.

Biography

Wei Fenghe was born in Liaocheng, Shandong. He joined the People's Liberation Army in December 1970, at the age of 16. Wei graduated from the Second Artillery Command Academy's Command Department in 1984, and rose from the ranks of the Second Artillery Corps to the rank of general. Wei replaced Jing Zhiyuan as commander of the Second Artillery Corps in October 2012, and was promoted to the rank of general in November 2012. Prior to becoming commander of the Second Artillery, Wei served as deputy chief of staff on the PLA General Staff Department, a first for a Second Artillery officer. Wei also served as chief of staff of the Second Artillery, deputy chief of staff of the Second Artillery, 53rd Base commander, 54th Base chief of staff, and a variety of other command positions in the Second Artillery. In January 1972, Wei joined the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

. Wei was an alternate member of the

17th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party The 17th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party was elected by the 17th Congress on 21 October 2007, and sat until the 18th National Congress in 2012. The 17th CC is composed of full members and alternate members. It was followed by the ...

, and member of the

18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party The 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party was elected by the 18th National Congress on 15 November 2012, and sat in plenary sessions until the communing of the 19th National Congress in 2017. It was formally proceeded by the 17t ...

. On March 19, 2018, Wei was appointed as the Minister of National Defence and the State Councilor. In 2019, a few days before the 30th anniversary of the 1989 Tianamen Square crackdown, Wei defended the actions of the government in the 1989 events in Tiananmen Square and the handling of the protests by the government, saying the government "was decisive in stopping the turbulence". On December 1, 2020, Wei was awarded the Nishan-e-Imtiaz for his services in promoting defense cooperation between Pakistan and China. On 11 June 2022, U.S. Secretary of Defense

Lloyd Austin Lloyd James Austin III (born August 8, 1953) is a retired United States Army four-star general who, since his appointment on January 22, 2021, has served as the 28th United States secretary of defense. He is the first African American to serv ...

condemned China's "provocative, destabilising" military activity near

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, a day after Wei warned Austin that "if anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese army will definitely not hesitate to start a war no matter the cost." Wei further said that the People’s Liberation Army "would have no choice but to fight … and crush any attempt of Taiwan independence, safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wei, Fenghe 1954 births Living people People from Liaocheng People's Liberation Army generals from Shandong Ministers of National Defense of the People's Republic of China State councillors of China Members of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Recipients of Nishan-e-Imtiaz

Biography

See also

References