Former Vice Minister of the Chinese Ministry of Justice, Liu Zhiqiang, has been sentenced to 13 years in the first instance for involvement in bribery totaling over 42.45 million yuan. Over the past decade, the Ministry of Justice has seen five ministers come and go, with three of them falling from grace. Liu Zhiqiang has connections with all three of the disgraced former ministers.
On July 22nd, the Intermediate People’s Court of Wuhu City, Anhui Province publicly announced the verdict of the bribery case involving Liu Zhiqiang, former member of the party group and vice minister of the Ministry of Justice. Liu Zhiqiang was sentenced to 13 years in prison for accepting bribes, and fined 3 million yuan.
The court stated that from 2007 to April 2024, Liu Zhiqiang, while serving in positions such as Director of the International Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, Deputy Governor of Qinghai Province, Director of the Provincial Public Security Department, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Member of the National Narcotics Control Commission, used his position and power to provide assistance to others in areas such as business operations, project contracting, business promotion, and job promotion. He directly or through others illegally accepted over 42.45 million yuan from relevant individuals.
On April 30th last year, Liu Zhiqiang was officially under investigation; on October 22nd, he was expelled from the party, deprived of his entitlements, and transferred to judicial authorities; in early February this year, he was indicted, and the first instance trial took place on May 9th.
Public records show that Liu Zhiqiang was born in July 1963 in Juancheng, Shandong Province, and had a long career in the public security system.
From 2004 to 2012, Liu Zhiqiang served as Deputy Director and then Director of the Foreign Affairs Bureau of the CPC Ministry of Public Security, and later as Director of the International Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security. In June 2012, he was transferred to Deputy Governor of Qinghai Province and Director of the Provincial Public Security Department. In January 2016, he returned to Beijing to serve as a member of the Party group and vice minister of the CPC Ministry of Justice until he was dismissed in June 2023.
It is worth noting that during his tenure at the Ministry of Justice, Liu Zhiqiang had connections with three former ministers who have since fallen from grace. These three individuals are Wu Aiying, Minister from June 2005 to February 2017, Fu Zhenghua, Minister from March 2018 to April 2020, and Tang Yijun, Minister from April 2020 to January 2023. Tang Yijun was ousted on April 2nd last year, followed by the investigation of Liu Zhiqiang at the end of April.