On October 12, 2026, in Jiangxi Province, former vice governor and former vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Hu Youtao, was sentenced to 13 years in prison in the first instance, accused of accepting bribes for a period of 29 years, with the amount totaling more than 43.64 million yuan (RMB). Hu Youtao fell from power in June last year after serving more than 7 years beyond his retirement.
The Intermediate People’s Court of Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, publicly announced the first-instance verdict of the bribery case involving Hu Youtao, former member of the Jiangxi Provincial CPPCC Party Committee and vice chairman. Hu Youtao was convicted of bribery and sentenced to 13 years in prison, along with a fine of 3 million yuan.
The court stated that from 1997 to 2025, Hu Youtao, leveraging his positions as Deputy Director of the Jiangxi Provincial Development and Reform Commission, Party Committee Secretary and Director of the Provincial Finance Department, Party Committee Secretary of the Provincial Tax Bureau, Vice Governor, and Vice Chairman of the CPPCC, provided assistance to relevant units and individuals in project contracting, business operations, and job adjustments, directly or through others, illegally accepting a total of more than 43.64 million yuan.
In June 2025, after more than 7 years of retirement, Hu Youtao was officially investigated. In December of the same year, he was expelled from the party, had his benefits revoked, and was handed over to the judicial authorities.
It is reported that the Intermediate People’s Court of Wenzhou City held a public hearing on the case on July 29, 2026.
Publicly available information indicates that Hu Youtao was born in April 1955 and worked for a long time in Jiangxi Province. He has held positions such as Deputy Director of the Jiangxi Provincial Development and Reform Commission, Director of the Jiangxi Provincial Finance Department, Vice Governor of Jiangxi Province, Vice Chairman of the Jiangxi Provincial CPPCC, until his resignation in January 2018. He was a member of the 12th Jiangxi Provincial Party Committee and a deputy to the 10th and 11th National People’s Congress.