Liu Yanpin, the former anti-corruption chief at China's Ministry of State Security who had been indicted on corruption charges, has pleaded guilty. The 67-year-old is alleged to have accepted more than $33 million.
The Changchun Intermediate People's Court said Liu had pleaded guilty and expressed repentance. He had previously been accused of party graft-busters of disloyalty to Xi Jinping and being part of a political clique led by former public security vice-minister Sun Lijun in an official documentary that was aired on CCTV in January.
Liu is the last alleged member of Sun's political gang to face sentencing.
Corruption Traced Back to 2001
Liu allegedly received money in return for business favours, lenient sentences, job promotions and help in accessing restricted car plates. His corruption trail can be traced back to 2001 when he was designated as the deputy director of the security bureau of the Ministry of Public Security. He was responsible for protecting the country's top leaders. Liu continued to accept bribes when he became the bureau's chief and went on to become the disciplinary head of the Ministry of State Security.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, China's top anti-corruption agency, earlier this year placed him under investigation. Liu was expelled from the party and dismissed from office in September and four weeks later, he was formally charged.
It should be noted that less than a month before Xi Jinping came into power for a third term, Sun and other members of the security bureau were slapped with lengthy jail sentences for corruption. Sun; former justice minister Fu Zhenghua; and Wang Like, the head of political and legal affairs in eastern Jiangsu province, were given suspended death sentence by the Changchun court.
Xi's Anti-Corruption Campaign
Xi remains committed to his anti-corruption campaign since taking office in late 2012. China has seen about 4.7 million officials placed under investigation in the past decade. In June, Xi told the Communist Party of China's top leaders to exercise stricter self-discipline. He called corruption a tumour.
"The fight against corruption is a major political struggle that the party cannot afford to lose and should never lose because it concerns the people," the Chinese president said. He described the anti-corruption fight as extremely complex and arduous, with no room for compromise. Xi urged party cadres to be courageous to face the problems squarely and muster the resolve to wield the knife and cut off all tumors.
