Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Sun will have all his "illegal gains" confiscated

A former Chinese Communist Party official once tipped for a top leadership position has been sentenced to life in prison for bribery.

Sun Zhengcai, a former Politburo member, is the latest senior figure to fall in President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign.

He was found guilty of taking bribes of more than $26.7m (£19.6m).

The 54-year-old, also the former party chief of Chongqing, pleaded guilty to the charges in April.

According to state media outlet Xinhua, Sun's "illegal gains" would be confiscated.

President Xi has made it his personal mission to tackle the widespread corruption in China. More than a million officials have been punished since he became president.

But critics accuse him of using the anti-corruption campaign to silence his political opponents and rein in officials who challenge his position.</s>Chinese court sentences former political high-flyer Sun Zhengcai to life in prison for taking over $26 million in bribes.</s>Sun admitted in April to an intermediate court in the city of Tianjin that he had taken bribes of more than 170 million yuan.

Sun, 54, was abruptly removed in July from his post as party chief of Chongqing, one of China’s most important cities. (Photo: AFP)

Beijing: A Chinese court has sentenced Sun Zhengcai, the former Communist Party boss of the southwestern city of Chongqing, to life in prison for corruption, state media said on Tuesday.

Sun is the latest former senior official taken down in President Xi Jinping’s war on graft. He admitted in April to an intermediate court in the city of Tianjin that he had taken bribes of more than 170 million yuan (USD 27 million).

“After the judgment was announced, Sun Zhengcai told the court he admitted his guilt, expressed repentance, accepted the decision, and said he would not appeal,” the official Xinhua news agency said, citing the Tianjin court.

Reuters has not been able to reach Sun or a representative for comment since he was put under investigation last year.

Sun, 54, was abruptly removed in July from his post as party chief of Chongqing, one of China’s most important cities. He was replaced by Chen Miner, who is close to Xi.

Until then, Sun, one of the youngest of the 25 members of the ruling party’s decision-making Politburo, had been considered a contender for top leadership.

Prosecutors charged Sun in February with accepting “huge sums” in bribes during various posts going back 15 years in Chongqing, Beijing, the northeastern province of Jilin, and during his term as minister of agriculture.

He was certain to be found guilty because China’s courts are controlled by the party and will not challenge its accusations.

Xi has presided over a sweeping corruption crackdown since coming to power in 2012, vowing to target both “tigers” and “flies” in a reference to elite officials and ordinary bureaucrats.

The campaign has led to the jailing or punishment of thousands of officials and also brought down dozens of senior party and military officials.

The anti-corruption effort has not just been focused on issues like bribery and using public money to fund lavish lifestyles. It has also taken aim at those whose political loyalty is found lacking or who express doubt in public about party policies.

China has rebuffed criticism that the campaign is as much about settling political scores as about stamping out genuine criminal acts.</s>BEIJING (AP) - A Chinese court has sentenced former political high-flyer Sun Zhengcai to life in prison for taking more than $26 million in bribes.

Sun's sentence handed down Tuesday by the intermediate court in the northern port city of Tianjin appears to mark the end of a career that had once been seen as propelling him to the apex of power in the ruling Communist Party.

He was also deprived of political rights for life and had all his personal property confiscated. Sun had been a member of the party's powerful Politburo.

FILE - In this March 13, 2017, file photo, the then-party secretary of Chongqing, Sun Zhengcai, attends the closing session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Chinese court sentenced former political high-flyer Sun to life in prison for taking over $26 million in bribes, Tuesday, May 8, 2018. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)</s>A former top Chinese Communist Party official who was once tipped for a top leadership post was sentenced to life in prison for bribery, Chinese state media said today, the latest senior cadre to fall in President Xi Jinping’s sweeping anti-corruption crusade. Sun Zhengcai, a former Politburo member and party chief of the southwestern mega-city of Chongqing, was found guilty of taking over 170 million yuan ($26.7 million) in bribes, the official Xinhua news service said, adding that his “illegal gains” would be confiscated.</s>A Chinese court has sentenced former political high-flyer Sun Zhengcai to life in prison for taking more than $26 million in bribes.

Sun's sentence handed down Tuesday by the intermediate court in the northern port city of Tianjin appears to mark the end of a career that had once been seen as propelling him to the apex of power in the ruling Communist Party.

He was also deprived of political rights for life and had all his personal property confiscated. Sun had been a member of the party's powerful Politburo.</s>A Chinese Court on Tuesday sentenced Sun Zhengcai, former agricultural minister and ex secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), to life imprisonment for taking more than 170 million yuan ($26 million dollars) in bribes.

The Intermediate People's Court of Tianjin Municipality said Sun will be deprived of his political rights for life, and the state will confiscate all his personal property and illegal profits.</s>A former senior Communist Party official who was once tipped to become the future president of China has been sentenced to life imprisonment for bribery on Tuesday.

The First Intermediate People's Court of Tianjin convicted Sun Zhengcai of taking more than 170 million yuan ($27m) in bribes, directly or through third parties.

Sun had previously pleaded guilty to accepting bribes at his trial on 12 April.

During the trial, Sun said he would not appeal the sentence.

Sun and his alleged associates were accused of accepting money and assets in return for helping unspecified organisations and individuals with business operations and other matters, the court said.

The crimes were committed while he was a district Communist Party leader in Beijing in 2002 when he was the state minister of agriculture, and during his period as party chief, the court said.

"I sincerely confess to and regret the crimes I committed. I accept the court's verdict and will not appeal," the 54-year-old leader said in court, China Central Television reported.

Sun, a former Politburo member and party chief of the southwestern mega-city of Chongqing was also stripped of his political rights for life, and all his property and illicit gains were confiscated, Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.

In July, Sun was abruptly removed from his post as the ruling Communist Party's chief of the southwestern city of Chongqing and was replaced by Chen Miner, a protege of current President Xi Jinping.

Sun was the youngest member of the Communist Party's top 25-member Politburo before he was expelled, and he was widely considered a potential successor to Xi. 

 

Sun's case mirrors the downfall of another former Chongqing chief, Bo Xilai, whose arrest shook the previous party in 2012.

Bo, who was at the time considered a potential future leader, is now serving a life sentence in prison for corruption and abuse of power, charges that Sun is also facing.

Xi, 64, has waged a relentless fight against deep-rooted corruption since assuming power five years ago, with more than a million officials punished and dozens of former senior officials jailed.

During last year's National Congress, Xi vowed to continue his anti-corruption campaign, claiming "the fight against corruption has formed an overwhelming posture and strengthened in development."

His clampdown on corrupt officials has gained him a measure of popularity among Chinese people.

However, critics have claimed Xi has used the crusade as a way to sideline political opponents and consolidate his power over the country.

Xi's rise over the years has been accompanied by tighter restrictions on civil society, with the detention of activists and lawyers, and stricter limits on the already heavily controlled internet.

In March, China's parliament scrapped presidential term limits, paving the way for Xi to rule indefinitely over the world's most populous country.

The move reversed the era of "collective" leadership and orderly succession that was promoted by late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping to ensure stability following the turbulent one-man rule of Communist China's founder Mao Zedong.

Xi would have had to give up the presidency after the end of his second term in 2023, but last year's decision allows him to have a lifetime in power during which to push his vision of a rejuvenated China as a global powerhouse with a "world-class" military.</s>Sun Zhengcai, Once A Rising Star In China, Gets Life Sentence On Bribery Charges

Sun Zhengcai, a former Chinese Politburo member who seemed destined for a top leadership position, has been sentenced to life in prison — the latest senior figure to fall in President Xi Jinping's war on corruption.

Sun, 54, was sentenced on bribery charges by the No. 1 Intermediate People's Court in the northern port city of Tianjin after pleading guilty on April 12. He admitted to taking $27 million in bribes.

Sun was shown on state television CCTV accepting his sentence and telling the court that he would not appeal.

The South China Morning Post reports, "The amount of bribes involved was punishable by death but the court said it took mitigating factors into account, including that most of the bribes were taken by 'designated parties' and that Sun gave investigators additional, previously unknown information about his crimes."

The Post says Sun had been the youngest member of the Politburo and "was once widely considered a strong candidate on the Politburo Standing Committee, the Chinese leadership's inner sanctum."

Sun is said to have committed the crimes while in various posts – in Beijing in 2002 while he was Communist Party boss there, as minister of agriculture and, most recently, while he was party chief in Chongqing. He was fired from that post in July and placed under investigation.

However, despite Sun's conviction on bribery, "Chinese leaders and party-run media have made it clear that Sun's offenses were largely political in nature," the AP writes. "At a party meeting last year, a senior official stated that Sun and other senior figures prosecuted in Xi's anti-corruption crackdown were 'conspiring openly to usurp party leadership.'"

As NPR's Rob Schmitz wrote last year, "In the months before taking office five years ago, Xi delivered a speech announcing the campaign he would use to consolidate power — a sweeping crusade against corruption, which had become prevalent on every level of society after decades of double-digit growth."

Sun's predecessor, Bo Xilai, was also caught up in the anti-corruption dragnet. In 2012, he too was sentenced to life.</s>A Chinese court has sentenced former political high-flyer Sun Zhengcai to life in prison for taking more than $26 million in bribes.

Sun's sentence handed down Tuesday by the intermediate court in the northern port city of Tianjin appears to mark the end of a career that had once been seen as propelling him to the apex of power in the ruling Communist Party.

He was also deprived of political rights for life and had all his personal property confiscated. Sun had been a member of the party's powerful Politburo.

Help us deliver journalism that makes a difference in our community. Our journalism takes a lot of time, effort, and hard work to produce. If you read and enjoy our journalism, please consider subscribing today.
High profile Chinese Communist Party member Sun Zhengcai is sentenced to life in prison for taking bribes totaling 170 million yuan.