A court in China handed down a life imprisonment sentence on Monday to Tang Yijun, the former justice minister, after convicting him of accepting nearly $20 million in bribes over a 16-year period.
The 64-year-old Tang, who served as China’s justice minister from 2020 to 2023, also held senior roles earlier in his career, including governor of Liaoning province and head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) committee in the city of Ningbo.
The Xiamen Intermediate People’s Court in eastern China stated that Tang had abused the advantages of his various positions between 2006 and 2022 to secure benefits for individuals and entities in exchange for illicit payments. These benefits included assistance with initial public offerings, obtaining bank loans, acquiring land, and other matters.
The court confirmed that Tang received a total of 137 million yuan (approximately $19.7 million) in bribes. It described the amount as “particularly high” and said it had caused “extremely serious damage to the interests of the state and the people.”
The court noted several mitigating factors in determining the sentence, including Tang’s confession after arrest, his expression of remorse, guilty plea, and full cooperation with investigators.
Tang’s case is part of President Xi Jinping’s ongoing anti-corruption campaign, launched in 2012, which has targeted thousands of officials across government, military, and business sectors. Critics argue the purge has also been used to eliminate potential political rivals.
Another former justice minister, Fu Zhenghua, was convicted of corruption in 2022 and initially received a death sentence with a two-year reprieve, later commuted to life imprisonment.
Last month, authorities announced an anti-corruption investigation into General Zhang Youxia, China’s most powerful military figure and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, marking one of the highest-ranking military officials targeted in recent decades.
AFP
