On December 16, a senior official of the Chinese Communist Party, Qi Tongsheng, former Party Secretary and Chairman of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Political Consultative Conference, was sentenced in a bribery case. Qi Tongsheng was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for the crime of bribery. Qi Tongsheng is the oldest “tiger” to be investigated by the CCP after the 20th National Congress.
He was accused of using his positions from January 2004 to November 2021, such as Party Secretary and Director of the Development and Reform Commission of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Vice Chairman of the Autonomous Region Government, Standing Committee Member of the Autonomous Region Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Government, Party Secretary and Chairman of the Political Consultative Conference of the Autonomous Region, Vice Director of the National Committee of Ethnic and Religious Affairs, to provide assistance in handling mining permits, project filings and approvals, and contracting of engineering projects for relevant units and individuals, receiving a total of more than 111 million yuan in cash and gifts.
The court stated that in Qi Tongsheng’s bribery crimes, there were attempts that were not carried out, and after surrendering, he confessed his crimes upon arrest, voluntarily disclosed parts of the bribery facts unknown to the investigating authorities, expressed remorse, returned some of the ill-gotten gains, and most of the embezzled funds and properties have been recovered. The court then made the aforementioned sentence.
On September 25 of this year, the trial of Qi Tongsheng’s bribery case took place, during which he admitted his guilt and expressed remorse.
In October 2024, Qi Tongsheng, who had been retired for about a year and a half, was officially announced to have fallen from grace. According to reports from mainland Chinese media, Qi Tongsheng is the oldest “tiger” to be arrested after the 20th National Congress of the CCP.
Public records show that Qi Tongsheng, originally from Pingshan, Hebei, became Vice Chairman and Party Member of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Government in January 2005, elevating him to the deputy provincial level. In June 2007, he became a Standing Committee Member of the Autonomous Region Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Government, and Deputy Secretary of the Party Group. In January 2013, Qi Tongsheng became the Chairman and Party Secretary of the 10th session of the Political Consultative Conference of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. He stepped down in January 2018 and in March of the same year, he became the Vice Director of the National Committee of Ethnic and Religious Affairs.
Qi Tongsheng retired at the age of 71 in March 2023.
On March 14, 2025, an official notification stated that Qi Tongsheng was heavily involved in superstitious activities for a long time; he was greedy, corrupt, and acted recklessly, using public power as a means to seek personal gain through trading power and money. He took advantage of his position to profit from others in mining rights and engineering contracts, and illegally accepted large sums of money. Qi Tongsheng was expelled from the Chinese Communist Party, had his entitlements revoked, and his qualification as a representative to the 13th Party Congress of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region was rescinded.
On March 25, Qi Tongsheng, 72 years old, was sent to the prosecutor’s office for review and prosecution of a bribery case. The Supreme Procuratorate made the decision to arrest Qi Tongsheng on charges of bribery.