Court finds Tang Yijun abused high office for more than a decade; ruling underscores Beijing’s continued anti-corruption drive
A Chinese court on Monday sentenced former justice minister Tang Yijun to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of accepting bribes amounting to nearly $20 million over a period of more than 15 years, marking one of the most significant convictions of a senior legal official in recent years.
The ruling, delivered by the Xiamen Intermediate People’s Court, concluded that Tang had exploited the authority and influence attached to the various positions he held between 2006 and 2022. During that time, he allegedly secured benefits for individuals and corporate entities in exchange for substantial financial payments.
Tang, 64, served as China’s justice minister from 2020 to 2023, overseeing the country’s legal and prison systems during a period of intense regulatory scrutiny and political discipline. Earlier in his career, he held senior posts including governor of Liaoning province and Communist Party chief of Ningbo, positions that gave him significant administrative and political influence.
According to the court’s statement, Tang used “the advantages associated with the positions he successively held” to assist companies and private individuals in matters ranging from facilitating initial public offerings and securing bank loans to obtaining land and navigating regulatory approvals. In return, he accepted a total of 137 million yuan — approximately $19.7 million.
The court described the amount of bribes as “particularly high,” stating that Tang’s actions caused “extremely serious damage to the interests of the state and the people.” Nevertheless, judges said they considered several mitigating factors in determining his sentence. Tang reportedly confessed following his arrest, expressed remorse, pleaded guilty, and cooperated with investigators — steps that may have spared him a harsher penalty under China’s legal system.
Tang’s conviction places him among a growing list of senior officials punished under President Xi Jinping’s sweeping anti-corruption campaign, which has targeted figures across the political, legal, financial and military establishments.
In 2022, another former justice minister, Fu Zhenghua, was convicted on corruption charges and handed a death sentence with a two-year reprieve. That sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment, a common legal outcome in China for cases involving cooperation or other mitigating circumstances.
The anti-graft campaign has also recently expanded into the upper ranks of the military. Authorities announced last month that they had launched an investigation into General Zhang Youxia, one of the country’s most powerful military leaders and among the highest-ranking officers to face such scrutiny in decades.
The sentencing of Tang underscores the continued intensity of Beijing’s efforts to root out corruption within the party-state apparatus, even among officials entrusted with upholding the rule of law. As China’s leadership continues to frame anti-corruption as essential to political discipline and public trust, cases such as Tang’s serve as both warning and signal — that even those at the pinnacle of authority are not beyond the reach of accountability.
By FCCT Editorial Team
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