Former Vice President of Peking University Ren Yuzhong voluntarily surrendered and was sentenced to 8 years in prison for bribery, becoming the first “post-80s” middle-level cadre to receive a sentence. He was once the top scorer in the liberal arts section of the college entrance exam in Sichuan Province.
On August 24, the Intermediate People’s Court of Dandong City, Liaoning Province, publicly announced the first-instance verdict of Ren Yuzhong, former member of the Party Committee and Vice President of Peking University, on charges of bribery. Ren Yuzhong was sentenced to 8 years in prison for bribery and fined 2.6 million yuan (RMB).
The court stated that from 2006 to 2025, Ren Yuzhong used his positions as deputy director and director of the Policy Research Office of the Party Committee of Peking University, Minister of Personnel Department of Peking University, Minister of the Propaganda Department of the Party Committee of Peking University, member of the Party Committee of Peking University and Vice President, as well as the convenience and conditions formed by his authority and status, to provide assistance to relevant units and individuals in education and training, enrollment, and employment, and illegally accepted more than 31.95 million yuan in total.
On September 17, 2025, it was officially reported that Ren Yuzhong voluntarily surrendered; in the same year in December, he was expelled from the Party, dismissed from public office, and transferred to judicial authorities. It is reported that the Intermediate People’s Court of Dandong City held a public hearing on June 5, 2026.
Public records show that Ren Yuzhong, born in January 1980 in Ziyang, Sichuan Province, was the top student of the 98th class at Ziyang Middle School in Sichuan and the top scorer in the liberal arts section of the Sichuan Province college entrance exam in 1998. Ren Yuzhong entered the International Relations College of Peking University in 1998, majoring in international politics, and was recommended for graduate studies in Chinese and foreign political systems at the International Relations College of Peking University in 2002. After graduating from graduate school, Ren Yuzhong stayed and worked at the university.
Ren Yuzhong has held positions such as director of the Policy and Regulations Research Office of Peking University, director (concurrently) of the Party Committee Policy Research Office, Minister of Personnel Department, Minister of the Party Committee Teacher Work Department, director (concurrently) of the Talent Exchange and Training Center, and director (concurrently) of the Faculty Talent Office. In 2020, Ren Yuzhong became the Minister of the Propaganda Department of the Party Committee of Peking University, and later held positions as member of the Party Committee of Peking University and Secretary-General, Minister of Propaganda Department, spokesperson, director of the Multimedia Center, and Party Secretary of the Department of Sociology, among others, and became Vice President of Peking University in March 2024.
So far in 2026, a total of 34 middle-level cadres have been sentenced, the previous 33 being Zhao Jinyun, Wang Hao, Chen Xiaobo, Zhang Gengsheng, Zhang Xiaolian, Li Weiwei, Zhang Tianfeng, Luo Zengbin, Li Haitao, Ma Fengsheng, Wu Cunrong, Tan Ruisong, Kou Wei, Liu Weidong, Wang Zhonghe, Hong Lihe, Chen Shifei, Zhou Xi’an, Lu Kehua, Qizhala, Yuan Guangyu, Zhu Zhisong, Zhou Jiabin, Liu Mancang, Zhou Derui, Li Chunliang, Duan Chenggang, Xu Xianping, Zhang Jianhua, Lu Wenjun, Long Xiang, and Yu Wenming. In addition, two former Defense Ministers, Wei Feng and Li Shangfu, were sentenced to death with a reprieve for life imprisonment in the first instance.