A Chinese court has handed down a life sentence to former justice minister Tang Yijun after convicting him of corruption involving nearly 20 million dollars in bribes.
The ruling was delivered on Monday, February 2, by the Xiamen Intermediate People’s Court in eastern China. Prosecutors said Tang exploited his influence over a period of more than 15 years to secure business advantages for individuals and companies in exchange for large sums of money.
Tang, 64, served as China’s justice minister from 2020 until 2023 and previously occupied several powerful positions, including governor of Liaoning province and Communist Party secretary of the eastern port city of Ningbo.
Court documents revealed that between 2006 and 2022, Tang used his authority to assist with matters such as company listings, bank loan approvals, land transactions and other commercial dealings. In return, he accepted bribes amounting to 137 million yuan, roughly 19.7 million dollars.
Judges described the scale of the corruption as extremely serious, stating that Tang’s actions caused significant harm to the interests of both the state and the public.
Despite the gravity of the offences, the court opted for leniency over the maximum penalty. It cited Tang’s decision to confess after his arrest, his cooperation with investigators, his guilty plea and expressions of remorse as factors that influenced the sentence.
Tang’s conviction comes amid President Xi Jinping’s long running anti corruption drive, which has seen hundreds of senior officials investigated and prosecuted since 2012. While authorities describe the campaign as essential to cleaning up the political system, critics say it has also served to sideline rivals and consolidate power.
He is not the first former justice minister to fall. In 2022, Fu Zhenghua was convicted on corruption charges and originally sentenced to death with a reprieve before his punishment was reduced to life imprisonment.
In a related development, Chinese authorities last month announced a corruption probe into Zhang Youxia, one of the country’s most influential military figures, marking one of the highest level military investigations in decades.
