Former president of Central South University and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Zhang Yaoxue, has been expelled from the party, stripped of his welfare benefits, and transferred to the judiciary after falling from grace in October last year. Prior to his downfall, he had overseen the successful development of China’s first network router.
On May 21st, the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission reported that, with the approval of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission initiated a case review and investigation into the serious violations of discipline and law by Zhang Yaoxue, former member of the Party Committee and president of Central South University.
According to the report, Zhang Yaoxue obstructed organizational review, accepted banquets in violation of rules, sought benefits for others and accepted gifts and money in the process of cadre selection, academic title awards, and honors, thereby promoting irregularities and corruption in the academic field. He unlawfully accepted gifts and money, abused public power for personal gain, extensively solicited money, leveraged his position for personal gain in enterprise operation and job promotions for others, and illegally accepted large sums of money.
Zhang Yaoxue has been expelled from the Party, removed from public office, and transferred to the judiciary.
In October last year, Zhang Yaoxue was investigated, becoming the 48th senior official to fall from grace that year.
Public records show that Zhang Yaoxue, born in January 1956 in Li County, Hunan Province, graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Northwest Telecommunications Engineering Institute (now Xi’an University of Electronic Science and Technology) in 1982. He obtained a doctoral degree in engineering from Tohoku University in Japan in 1989 and has served as a professor and doctoral supervisor. In 2007, he became an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
From 2001 to 2011, Zhang Yaoxue held various positions, including Director of the Department of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education, Director of Degree Management and Graduate Student Department, Director of the Office of the State Council Academic Degrees Committee, and Director of the 985 and 211 Project Offices.
From October 2011 to May 2017, Zhang Yaoxue served as the president of Central South University (at the vice-ministerial level). Located in Changsha, Hunan Province, Central South University is a national key university directly under the Ministry of Education and a university directly administered by the central government.
Zhang Yaoxue was also a member of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a member of the 11th Committee of the Hunan Provincial Commission, and the Chairman of the 10th Provincial Committee of the Hunan Association for Science and Technology.