A court in China has sentenced former top Communist Party official Sun Zhengcai to life in prison. Sun, once considered a future candidate for president, was found guilty of accepting millions in bribes.
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Sun Zhengcai, former Communist Party boss of the southwestern city of Chongqing, was handed a life sentence Tuesday for corruption.
The ex-Politburo member is one of the most high-profile politicians to be targeted by President Xi Jinping's sweeping anti-graft campaign.
The intermediate court in Tianjin said Sun was found to have taken bribes worth 170 million yuan ($26.7 million; €22 million). It said his personal property had been confiscated and that he would be deprived of his political rights for life.
"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.
Last month, the 54-year-old pleaded guilty to accepting bribes during the 15 years he held top positions in Beijing, Jilin province and Chongqing, as well as during his term as minister of agriculture.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has been elected for a second term that should have been his last. Following the passing of an amendment that removes presidential term limits, DW looks at Xi's political career so far.
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Slow beginnings
Xi Jinping, the son of communist revolutionary and political leader Xi Zhongxun, started his political career when he was finally accepted as a member of China’s Communist Party in 1974. Xi had applied to join the party several times, but was rejected due to his father’s political history — Xi Zhongxun had been purged in 1962 and was then persecuted and jailed during China's Cultural Revolution.
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Rise to the top
Xi studied chemical engineering at Tsinghua University, but after acceptance to the Communist Party he worked hard to reach the top ranks. In 1982, he started out as a party secretary in Herbei province before advancing to more senior roles in the country, such as numerous provincial governor positions and then party chief in China’s second biggest city and financial hub Shanghai.
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Presidential success
On November 15, 2012, Xi was elected general secretary of the Communist Party and chairman of the Central Military Commission by the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which informally made him China’s leader. On March 14, 2013, Xi was officially elected president in a confirmation vote by the 12th National People’s Congress. He replaced Hu Jintao who had served his two terms.
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The Chinese Dream
Following his election, the phrase "Chinese Dream" became the political slogan of Xi’s leadership. While some thought it echoed the American Dream, it refers to the rejuvenation of China. Xi has called for the "great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" and for his country to take its "due place in the world." He said that China is "resolved to fight the bloody battle against our enemies."
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Historic meeting
On November 7, 2015, Xi met with then-Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou in Singapore, in the first meeting between China and Taiwan's leaders since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. However, in March 2018, Xi Jinping warned Taiwan it would face the "punishment of history" for any attempt at separatism. It was Xi's harshest warning yet to the island, which China claims as its territory.
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Core leader
On October 27, 2016, Xi was declared the "core" leader of the Communist Party, a title that is bestowed upon a leader who is seen as central to the leadership of the Communist Party of China. Just three others have been given the title, including Chairman Mao Zedong, who's commonly considered to be the founding father of modern China, former chairman Deng Xiaoping and former president Jiang Zemin.
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Military influence
In December 2017, the People's Armed Police in China was put under the command of the Central Military Commission, which controls China's military. It put the 660,000-strong force under the direct control of President Xi Jinping, who heads the Central Military Commission as armed forces chief and commander in chief.
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Indefinite power
On March 17, 2018, China’s parliament elected Xi for a second term and unanimously voted in favor of an amendment to the country’s constitution that removed presidential term limits. China previously had a limit of two terms, a system brought in by former leader Deng Xiaoping in 1982, to prevent lifelong dictatorships. The amendment allows President Xi Jinping to stay in power indefinitely.
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Shattered political career
As one of the youngest of the 25 members in the powerful Politburo ruling body, Sun had been seen in some circles as a potential successor to President Xi before he was suddenly removed from his post in Chongqing last July.
He was replaced by Xi protege Chen Min'er, who was later promoted to the Politburo.
Thousands of officials, including senior party members, have faced prosecution since Xi launched his war on corruption in 2012. Critics, however, have described it as a political purge rather than a campaign solely targeting criminal behavior.
