After 14 months of being ousted, Li Chunliang, former deputy director of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), was sentenced to life imprisonment in the first trial for charges of bribery and using influence to accept bribes, with a total amount of 877 billion yuan (RMB).
On July 22, the Intermediate People’s Court of Dezhou City, Shandong Province, publicly pronounced the verdict of Li Chunliang, former member of the Party group and deputy director of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (National Park Management Bureau), on charges of bribery and using influence to accept bribes. Li Chunliang was sentenced to life imprisonment for bribery and 4 years for using influence to accept bribes, with the decision to execute life imprisonment.
The court explained that from the second half of 2002 to May 2022, Li Chunliang, while holding positions such as director and deputy director of the Central Organization Department’s cadre office, inspector, director of the Bureau of Cadres Two, member of the Party group and deputy director of the State Forestry Administration, and member of the Party group and deputy director of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration (National Park Management Bureau), took advantage of his convenience and power to provide assistance to others in areas such as company operations, project contracts, and job promotions, and illegally received a total of over 84.65 million yuan.
From October 2023 to the end of December 2024, after leaving his position, Li Chunliang used his influence from his previous roles and positions to help others in handling approval procedures through the actions of other state employees, and illegally received a total of 3.05 million yuan.
In May of last year, Li Chunliang was ousted and in November of the same year, he was expelled from the CCP, had his benefits revoked, and was transferred to judicial authorities. In March of this year, he was indicted.
It is reported that the Intermediate People’s Court of Dezhou City, Shandong Province, held a public court session for the case on April 29.
According to his public resume, Li Chunliang was born in February 1963 in Bazhou, Hebei. He began working in the local cadre bureau of the CCP Central Organization Department in 1997 and held positions such as deputy division-level researcher, deputy director of the cadre office of Bureau Two, director of Division Two, and deputy director of Bureau Two.
In 2008, Li Chunliang was appointed as Deputy Minister of the Jiangxi Provincial Party Committee Organization Department and later also served as the director of the Bureau of Elderly Cadres of the Provincial Party Committee the following year.
In 2011, Li Chunliang returned to the Central Organization Department as an inspector and deputy director of the Bureau of Cadres Two, and in 2013, he became the director of the Bureau of Cadres Four.
In December 2016, Li Chunliang was appointed as deputy director of the State Forestry Administration (later renamed as the deputy director of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration) and a CCP member, until his dismissal in April 2023.
In December 2023, Li Chunliang became the president of the China Wildlife Conservation Association.