A court in the north of the People’s Republic of China condemned to death to the former minister of Agriculture Tang Renjian, who was judged for receiving bribes in exchange for favors.
Renjian had been expelled from his position and Communist Party of China (PCCH) last year.
His removal and made available to justice obeyed plan of the national government To combat corruption state.
A maximum penalty that could be attenuated: Tang Renjian’s conviction
Last Sunday, September 28Tang Renjianwho served as agriculture minister and rural affairs of China Between December 2020 and September 2024, it was Condemned to a death penalty suspended for two years for «accepting huge bribes»according to Xinhua.
Tang, 63, was under disciplinary investigation since May of last year, and He had been expelled from the Communist Party of China (PCCH) in November for «serious disciplinary violations» and for the «suspicion that he accepted bribes.»
The main anti -corruption organs of the State and the party had accused him of «being ineffective in the implementation of decisions», of «making blind decisions», of «being morally corrupted» and «showing unbridled greed», according to the official Chinese news agency.
Tang renjian podría receives his penal commert. Photo: Wikipedia (CC by 4.0)Weeks after his expulsion from the party, the former minister was arrested and his case fell to a court in the northeast city of Changchun.
It was this organ that now determined that, between 2007 and 2024, the senior official He took advantage of his positions to favor third parties in business, tenders or labor competitions, accepting effective and goods for a value equivalent to about 38 million dollars.
This type of sentence, with suspended death penalty, is relatively frequent in the Asian giant for corruption cases and assumes that, if the convicted person does not commit new crimes and has adequate behavior during the period in which the suspension is in force, the suspension is in force, You can see your sorrow switched to life imprisonment.
According to Xinhua, Tang declared guilty and «expressed regrets» in his final allegation. In addition, all their properties will be confiscated and the illegal gains obtained from bribes will recover to swell the national accounts.
«Tang’s crimes assumed serious damage to the interests of the State and the people, making it worthy of the death penalty. However, taking into account their cooperation when confessing their crimes, of returning the illicit profits and other factors, the court offered clemency,» summarized the news service.
Tang Renjian, one more in Xi Jinping’s purge
The decision to displace Renjian is part of a campaign promoted by Xi Jinpingwho, since his assumption as general secretary of the Communist Party of China, has promoted a purges towards corrupt officials or accused of serious crimes. In recent times, it has increased, since several ministers have been removed.
On July 25, 2023, the Government announced that, by decree, there were dismissed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Qin Gangwho had been in office for less than seven months.
Gang was fired without the reasons for the decision.Qin was one of the closest collaborators of President Xi Jinping And he had been seen in public for June 25, within the framework of a meeting with his counterparts from Russia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.
Days later, the Chinese administration justified the absence of the minister at a summit in Indonesia by claiming that he had «health problems.»
The announcement of your removalhappened exactly one month after the last time it appeared publicly, did not specify any reason why the decision was made, which allowed rumors to be elaborated that claim that it was a punishment for political reasons or for an extramarital relationship.
The hypotheses began to circulate quickly on the web, an abnormal fact in a country where censorship is usually applied to this type of thing. The explanation of the analysts is that these theories would have some real, and that is why the government would choose to let them transcend.
In this sense, the newspaper The Wall Street Journal He informed that Qin maintained a extramarital relationship While he was ambassador to the United States (2021-2022), which would have put China’s national security at risk.
Li shangfustá accused of corruption. Photo: Wikipedia (CC by 4.0)A few months later, in October 2023, The then defense minister, Li Shangfu, was also removed from his position. Later, the central television of China (CCTV) announced its expulsion from the Communist Party of China.
«The Politburo … has decided to expel Li Shangfu of the party, cancel his credentials as representative of the 20th National Congress and transfer their alleged criminal matters to military prosecution bodies for review and processing in accordance with the law,» said the official station of the Beijing government.
By that means, it was clarified that li is «Suspicious of bribery « and to «take advantage of their position and take huge sums of money to find personal benefits and for others.»
The same party organ, also reported the departure of Wei Fenghewho was Minister of Defense before Shangfu. He was also accused, among other things, of acceptance of bribes.
While XI’s purge has uncovered important cases of corruption within the PCCH, some critics have pointed out that it could also be used by the president to end the political career of some of his rivals.
With agency information.
