After falling from grace two years ago, former Vice Chairman of the Chongqing Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee, Zheng Hong, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
According to CCTV News, on March 17th, the first-instance trial of Zheng Hong, former Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Vice Chairman of the Chongqing Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee, as well as former chairman of the Chongqing Federation of Trade Unions, was announced by the Xi’an Intermediate People’s Court in Shaanxi Province. He was sentenced to 12 years and 6 months in prison for bribery, fined 3 million yuan, and 9 years in prison for corruption, fined 2 million yuan. The court decided to implement a 15-year prison sentence and a fine of 5 million yuan, with confiscation of Zheng Hong’s illegal gains and interests.
At the age of 68, Zheng Hong had a long career in Chongqing, serving as the district head and party secretary of Jiulongpo District, Chongqing. In 2008, he became the Vice Chairman and Party member of the Chongqing Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee, later concurrently serving as the chairman of the Chongqing Federation of Trade Unions. In 2015, he assumed the position of Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Vice Chairman of the Chongqing Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee, stepping down from the position in January 2018.
In March 2023, Zheng Hong was investigated, expelled from the Party in August, had his retirement benefits revoked, and was arrested in September. He was accused of accepting over 50.83 million yuan in bribes within 25 years.
The Xi’an Procuratorate accused Zheng Hong of using his official position and power as well as the convenience derived from his position to provide assistance to relevant units and individuals, illegally accepting a total of over 33.14 million yuan in property from 1998 to 2023.
From January 2020 to February 2023, after leaving office, Zheng Hong exploited his authority and position to help others in enterprise operations and case execution through the acts of other foreign personnel, accepting over 17.69 million yuan in illegal gains.
Prior reports mentioned the trial of Zheng Hong, the former Deputy Director of the Chongqing Municipal People’s Congress.