What’s new: Sun Yuanliang, former vice chairman of Liaoning province’s political consultative organ, has pleaded guilty to accepting more than 187 million yuan ($26 million) in bribes as he stood trial in Hebei province Thursday.
Sun, 68, allegedly took advantage of his official positions from as early as 1996, when he was deputy party chief of Liaoyang city in the northeastern province, helping people in ways including getting bank loans and career promotions. He received over 159 million yuan in return, Chengde Intermediate People’s Court said in a statement.
The prosecutors also accused Sun of taking another 28.16 million yuan in bribes, directly or through his son, after retiring in 2018, by exploiting his former positions and helping companies in their business operations.
Sun’s sentence will be announced at a later date, the court said.
The background: Sun worked for over three decades in his home province in positions including mayor of Liaoyang, a prefecture-level city, and various roles within the Liaoning Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
Sun also spent six years in the Tibet autonomous region from 1976 to 1982, after studying Russian at Liaoning University.
Numerous officials from Liaoning province have come under investigation for graft since 2022, including former deputy governor Hao Chunrong, former chairman of the Liaoyang CPPCC Cao Ying, and former deputy mayor of Liaoyang Lü Youhong.
Contact reporter Kelly Wang (jingzhewang@caixin.com) and editor Jonathan Breen (jonathanbreen@caixin.com)
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