China Sentences Former Justice Minister Tang Yijun to Life for Accepting $20 Million in Bribes

World

A court in China has sentenced a former justice minister to life in prison for accepting bribes totaling almost $20 million over more than a decade. Tang Yijun, 64, served as China’s justice minister from 2020 to 2023 and held various other positions, including governor of Liaoning province and head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for the city of Ningbo.

President Xi Jinping has launched a sweeping anti-corruption campaign since taking power in 2012, critics argue allowing him to eliminate potential political rivals. Tang abused “the advantages associated with the positions he successively held” by obtaining benefits for various entities and individuals between 2006 and 2022.

The Xiamen Intermediate People’s Court stated that Tang received a total of 137 million yuan ($19.7 million) in bribes, which caused “extremely serious damage to the interests of the state and the people,” according to the court. The judge noted mitigating factors such as Tang’s confession after his arrest, expression of remorse, plea of guilt, and cooperation with the investigation.

Previously, another former justice minister, Fu Zhenghua, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for corruption in 2022, with his sentence later reduced to life imprisonment. Recently, authorities announced an anti-corruption probe into China’s most powerful general, Zhang Youxia, marking the highest-ranking military figure arrested in recent decades.