Former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the Chinese Communist Party, Tang Renjian, who fell from power less than a year ago, has been charged with misdeeds for implementing “agricultural management law” during his tenure, sparking public outrage.
On April 17, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of the Chinese Communist Party announced that the investigation into the alleged bribery case of Tang Renjian, former Secretary of the Party Committee and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, had concluded. The case has been designated for review and prosecution by the Changchun Municipal People’s Procuratorate in Jilin Province. Recently, the prosecution has filed charges with the Intermediate People’s Court of Changchun.
The prosecution accuses Tang Renjian of using his positions as Vice Director of the Office of the Central Finance and Economic Leading Group, Vice Director of the Office of the Central Rural Work Leading Group, Vice Chairman of the People’s Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Vice Group Leader and Office Director of the Central Rural Work Leading Group, Governor of Gansu Province, and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs to seek benefits for others, unlawfully accepting property from others in extremely large amounts, and should bear criminal responsibility for bribery.
In May of last year, Tang Renjian was investigated while in office. Three days before his downfall, he even attended and spoke at the National Rural Talent Work Conference held in Xianyang, Shaanxi. In November of the same year, Tang Renjian was expelled from the party, transferred to judicial authorities, and had his qualifications as a representative of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China terminated; he was arrested in December.
According to his public resume, Tang Renjian, born in August 1962 in Chongqing, started working in August 1983 and held various positions such as Vice Director of the Office of the Central Finance and Economic Leading Group, Vice Director of the Office of the Central Rural Work Leading Group, and Deputy Group Leader of the State Council Poverty Alleviation and Development Leading Group.
In 2014, Tang Renjian was transferred to Guangxi to serve as Vice Chairman of the government; in 2017, he was appointed Deputy Secretary of the Gansu Provincial Party Committee and Governor; in December 2020, he became Director of the Office of the Central Rural Work Leading Group, Secretary of the Party Committee, and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
At the end of 2022, just under two years into his tenure as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs announced the implementation of the “Agricultural Management Law” starting from January 1, 2023, establishing “agricultural management” enforcement agencies in agricultural and rural departments nationwide.
According to public information, farmers’ methods of farming, crops grown, and even the locations for drying quilts are all under strict control by “agricultural management.” Netizens from various regions have uploaded videos and images exposing the various misconduct of “agricultural management.”
For example, in regions such as Henan, Shandong, Shanxi, Hunan, Guangxi, and the Northeast, there have been incidents of “agricultural management” confiscating livestock and other materials from farmers, indiscriminately cutting down fruit trees in farmhouses and mountains, destroying crops, and enforcing policies such as “returning forests to cultivation,” all of which have sparked public outrage.