What’s new: A former vice-chairman of Xizang autonomous region’s top political consultative body has pleaded guilty to taking more than $30 million in bribes, a Tianjin court announced.
Prosecutors accused Jiang Jie of taking advantage of his positions from 2000 to 2023 to help others obtain administrative approvals, project contracts, land transfers and job promotions, Tianjin’s First Intermediate People’s Court said in a Wednesday statement. In exchange, he accepted more than 225 million yuan ($31 million) in bribes.
The positions include director of the region’s transportation department and vice chairman of the region’s government, as well as mayor and party chief of Dongying in his home province of Shandong, according to the statement.
The court said Jiang would be sentenced at a later date.
The background: The investigation into Jiang, 58, began in July 2023. He started his career as a reporter at the Qingdao Daily in Shandong before spending over two decades working in local government bodies in the cities of Qingdao and Dongying.
In 2013, Jiang was transferred to Xizang and became a vice chairman of the region’s committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in 2022.
Several senior Xizang officials have been investigated in recent years, including former deputy chairman of the regional government, Zhang Yongze, who was sentenced in January to 14 years in prison for taking more than 51 million yuan in bribes, as well as Wu Yingjie, the first former Communist Party chief of the region to be caught in a graft probe since the late 1970s.
Contact reporter Kelly Wang (jingzhewang@caixin.com) and editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)
