A Chinese court has sentenced a former Minister of Justice, Tang Yijun, to life imprisonment after convicting him of receiving bribes amounting to almost $20 million over more than ten years.
Tang, 64, who served as China’s justice minister from 2020 to 2023, previously occupied several senior positions, including Governor of Liaoning Province and Communist Party secretary of Ningbo. The Xiamen Intermediate People’s Court in eastern China ruled on Monday that he abused the powers of his offices to illegally amass wealth between 2006 and 2022.
In its judgment, the court said Tang took advantage of the influence attached to the various roles he held to secure benefits for different individuals and organisations. In return for bribes, he allegedly helped businesses and individuals with stock market listings, bank financing, land acquisitions and other commercial dealings.
The court revealed that Tang received a total of 137 million yuan, about $19.7 million, through the illicit transactions. It described the sum involved as “especially huge,” noting that the offences caused “extremely serious harm to the interests of the state and the public.”
However, the court said Tang was shown some leniency after considering mitigating factors, including his confession, expression of remorse, guilty plea and full cooperation with investigators following his arrest.
Tang’s conviction is the latest high-profile outcome of President Xi Jinping’s long-running anti-corruption drive, which began after he took office in 2012. While authorities maintain that the campaign is aimed at strengthening accountability and governance, critics contend it has also been used to sideline perceived political opponents.
The case follows the 2022 conviction of another former justice minister, Fu Zhenghua, who was initially handed a suspended death sentence that was later reduced to life imprisonment. More recently, Chinese authorities disclosed that an anti-graft probe has been opened into Zhang Youxia, one of China’s most influential military figures and the highest-ranking general to face such scrutiny in decades.