In China, the symbol is once again strong as part of the vast anti -corruption campaign led by President Xi Jinping, who has already dropped several high -ranking personalities. Former Minister of Agriculture, Tang Renjian, was sentenced to the death penalty on Sunday for corruption, suspended from two years, announced the People’s Tribunal in Changchun, in Jilin province.
If supporters of this campaign say that it promotes impeccable governance, its detractors have a completely different reading. They believe that it gives the president the power to dismiss political rivals.
Bribes of more than 32 million euros
Regarding Tang Renjian, he accepted bribes in cash and goods for a total amount of more than 268 million yuan (32 million euros) from 2007 to 2024, said a press release. These bribes “have caused particularly serious losses to the interests of the State and the people, and therefore justified the death penalty”. The accused admitted his “crimes” and expressed remorse.
Before being Minister of Agriculture (2020-2024), Tang Renjian had notably been governor of the province of Gansu, as well as vice-president of the Guangxi autonomous region.
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His fall follows similar surveys for corruption having targeted the former defense ministers, Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe. The first was dismissed from his duties only seven months after his office, then excluded from the Chinese Communist Party for offenses, in particular suspicions of corruption, according to state media. His successor, Dong Jun, current Minister of Defense, would also have been the subject of a corruption investigation.
