Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Gabriel Osa
China’s former Minister of Justice, Tang Yijun, has been sentenced to life imprisonment after a court found him guilty of accepting massive bribes over a period spanning more than a decade, in one of the most high‑profile convictions in the country’s ongoing anti‑corruption campaign.
The Xiamen Intermediate People’s Court in Fujian Province delivered the verdict on February 2, 2026, ruling that Tang was guilty of taking bribes worth more than 137 million yuan (about $19.7 million) between 2006 and 2022. The court said Tang abused the influence and authority of several senior posts he held — including governor of Liaoning Province, Party chief of Ningbo in Zhejiang Province, and minister of justice — to provide improper benefits to organisations and individuals in matters such as company listings, land repurchases, bank loans and court case handling.
The court found that the scale of the bribery was “extremely large” and had caused “particularly serious damage to the interests of the state and the people.” As part of the sentence, Tang was also deprived of his political rights for life and all his personal property and illicit gains were ordered confiscated and to be turned over to the state treasury.
Tang, 64, had been placed under investigation by Chinese anti‑graft authorities in April 2024. He was subsequently expelled from the Chinese Communist Party and removed from public office as the probe unfolded. The bribery charges against him were brought formally in 2025, and a public hearing was held before the court issued its life sentence this week.
The conviction forms part of China’s broader anti‑corruption campaign, initiated under President Xi Jinping, which has targeted thousands of officials at various levels, including high‑ranking government and party figures. Tang’s sentencing follows a pattern of severe punishments for major graft offenders, and underscores Beijing’s push to reinforce party discipline and curtail corruption within the political elite.
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