On August 14th, the Tianjin Second Intermediate People’s Court held a trial for the bribery case of Sun Zhigang, the former Party Secretary of Guizhou Province.
The Tianjin Municipal Prosecutor’s Office accused Sun Zhigang of taking advantage of his positions from the second half of 2002 to August 2023, accumulating over 813 million yuan in illegal gains through bribery.
So, who were the key figures responsible for promoting and using the corrupt official Sun Zhigang?
Looking at Sun Zhigang’s career, as a high-level official at the province and ministerial level, he went through three key promotions: first as a member of the Hubei Provincial Committee and Secretary-General, then as the Governor of Guizhou Province, and finally as the Party Secretary of Guizhou Province.
Sun Zhigang was promoted to the position of member of the Hubei Provincial Committee and Secretary-General in June 2002, becoming a deputy ministerial-level official. According to the selection and appointment procedures of the Communist Party of China, promotion to a deputy ministerial level or higher rank requires inspection by the Central Organization Department and approval during the Political Bureau meeting.
In June 2002, the then Minister of the Central Organization Department was Zeng Qinghong. So, when Sun Zhigang was promoted to a deputy ministerial level, it was Zeng Qinghong who inspected his qualifications.
After Zeng Qinghong’s inspection, the results were submitted to the meeting of the Communist Party of China’s Political Bureau led by Jiang Zemin. The majority of the Political Bureau members, if not all, agreed with Zeng Qinghong’s assessment and decided to promote Sun Zhigang to the Hubei Provincial Committee and Secretary-General.
Sun Zhigang was promoted to the Governor of Guizhou Province in January 2016. At that time, the Minister of the Central Organization Department was Zhao Leji. Before Sun Zhigang’s promotion to Governor of Guizhou Province, it was Zhao Leji who conducted the inspection.
Zhao Leji concluded that Sun Zhigang was a good cadre with integrity, close ties to the masses, good conduct, and opposed any abuse of power or seeking personal gains.
Zhao Leji reported these findings to the Communist Party of China’s Political Bureau led by Xi Jinping, and the majority of Political Bureau members agreed with the assessment and decided to promote Sun Zhigang as the Governor of Guizhou Province.
Sun Zhigang was appointed as the Party Secretary of Guizhou Province in July 2017. The Minister of the Central Organization Department at the time was still Zhao Leji. Zhao Leji’s inspection found that Sun Zhigang had a strong commitment to communism and Chinese socialist beliefs, with a track record of integrity and close ties to the masses.
Zhao Leji reported these findings to the Political Bureau, and Xi Jinping and other members approved the decision to promote Sun Zhigang as the Party Secretary of Guizhou Province.
Based on the indictment by the Tianjin Municipal Prosecutor’s Office on August 14, 2024, Sun Zhigang’s corrupt activities spanned 21 years (from the second half of 2002 to August 2024).
Sun Zhigang was investigated for serious violations of discipline and law by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection on August 28, 2023. This means that he was still involved in bribery until the month of his investigation.
Sun Zhigang started taking bribes in the second half of 2002 and continued for 21 years until his downfall. Despite Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign launched in 2013, which saw the prosecution of hundreds of corrupt officials, Sun Zhigang remained unaffected. He continued to engage in corrupt activities while hypocritically advocating against corruption.
According to official Chinese government figures, Sun Zhigang embezzled over 813 million yuan. This indicates his blatant disregard for the law and party discipline, relentless greed, and lack of concern for people’s well-being.
However, the more corrupt he became, the more he was promoted and used. The mechanism that promotes corrupt officials like Sun Zhigang continues to operate within the Chinese Communist Party.
In conclusion, the key individuals responsible for promoting and using Sun Zhigang were former Minister of the Central Organization Department Zeng Qinghong, former top Communist Party and government leader Jiang Zemin, former Minister of the Central Organization Department Zhao Leji, and current top Communist Party and government leader Xi Jinping.
According to the Chinese Communist Party’s practices, those responsible for promoting and using corrupt officials like Sun Zhigang will not be held accountable for their errors in judgment, improper selections, or inappropriate use of personnel, let alone their violations of party discipline, government discipline, and the law.
While a corrupt official like Sun Zhigang has fallen, the mechanism that promoted and used such corrupt officials is still active.
Source: Epoch Times.