What’s new: Dong Yunhu, former chairman of Shanghai’s top legislature, has been sentenced to life in prison for accepting over 148 million yuan ($20.8 million) in bribes, a court in East China’s Anhui province announced.
Dong had abused positions he held in Shanghai, the Xizang autonomous region and the Communist Party’s international communication office between 2002 and 2023, granting favors in financing, land sales and personnel appointments, Hefei Intermediate People’s Court said in a Wednesday statement.
Dong’s sentencing was mitigated since he had returned all illegal gains and confessed details that the authorities had not yet known, the court said.
The background: The verdict came two months after Dong stood trial and pleaded guilty to bribery charges in the Hefei court. Dong fell under a graft probe in July 2023 and was removed from his position as a deputy to the National People’s Congress the following month.
Dong’s fall came shortly after he was appointed to head Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress in January 2023. Previously, he served as chairman of the financial hub’s top political advisory body for five years and had led the party’s publicity department in Xizang. The 61-year-old is also recognized as one of the earliest scholars in China to focus on human rights research.
The downfall of Dong kickstarted an earthquake in Shanghai’s officialdom with several senior officials and state-owned enterprise executives targeted by graft busters, including Cheng Feng, former deputy general manager of Shanghai United Media Group, and Xiao Xing, former deputy general manager of state-owned China Taiping Insurance Group Ltd.
Han Wei contributed to the article.
Contact reporter Kelly Wang (jingzhewang@caixin.com) and editors Lu Zhenhua (zhenhualu@caixin.com) and Jonathan Breen (jonathanbreen@caixin.com)
