By Tang Renjian

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China sentences former agricultural minister Tang Renjian to death. (Photo: X/ Cultination)

China’s former agricultural minister Tang Renjian was sentenced to death on Sunday (September 28, 2025) on corruption charges, with a two-year reprieve, a court statement said. Tang Renjian accepted cash and property bribes totalling more than 268 million yuan ($38 million) between 2007 and 2024, the People’s Court of Changchun in northeast Jilin province said in a statement, as reported by news agency AFP.According to Visegrád 24, he received the money in exchange for assistance with contracts, personnel decisions, and business operations. He was arrested in December 2024 for suspected bribery, the nation’s top prosecutor had said at the time of his arrest.”Recently, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate made an arrest decision on Tang Renjian on suspicion of taking bribes in accordance with the law,” the Supreme People’s Procuratorate had said in a statement, as quoted by news agency Reuters.The court ruled that the bribes “caused particularly severe losses to the interests of the state and the people, and therefore warranted the death penalty”, as quoted by AFP. It further stated that Tang had confessed to his crimes and expressed remorse.The court took into account his admission of guilt and remorse: after a two-year reprieve, the death sentence will be commuted to life imprisonment if he commits no further crimes, Visegrád 24 reported. The case was heard at the court on July 25, 2025. During the trial, prosecutors, the defendant and his defense counsel cross-examined the evidence and gave their respective accounts, according to news agency Xinhua.Live EventsXi Jinping’s sweeping anti-graft campaignTang’s sentencing is the latest in President Xi Jinping’s sweeping anti-graft campaign that has brought down several high-level figures. According to AFP, supporters of Xi’s anti-corruption drive say the campaign promotes clean governance, but critics argue it provides the president with the power to purge political rivals.Tang was also a former secretary of the ruling Communist Party in the ministry. He was expelled by the party in November 2024, six months after he was placed under investigation by the country’s anti-graft watchdog.The 63-year-old was investigated for “serious violations of discipline and law”, a euphemism for corruption, and removed from the leadership roster of the ministry’s website in May, 2025, according to Reuters. He previously served as governor of the northwestern province of Gansu, as well as the vice chairman of southern autonomous region Guangxi. His downfall follows similar graft investigations into former defence ministers Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe.Li was removed from office just seven months into the job, and later expelled from the Chinese Communist Party for offences including suspected bribery, state media said, as reported by AFP. His successor Dong Jun was also reportedly placed under investigation on corruption charges.Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now!
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