Who got what: Chinese watchdog opens up on bribery case that shook Tomorrow and put tycoon Xiao Jianhua in jail

Top anti-corruption body Central Commission for Discipline Inspection names former Shandong official as recipient of millions in ‘loans’ from Tomorrow Group

This and other revelations come in four-part CCDI documentary series co-produced with CCTV and titled Keep Sounding the Bugle

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Former Shandong party official Zhang Xinqi appears in the four-part documentary co-produced by China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Photo: CCTV

Published: 9:01pm, 9 Jan 2023Updated: 9:19pm, 9 Jan 2023

China’s top anti-corruption body has for the first time shed light on the bribery scandal that sank the once-powerful financial conglomerate Tomorrow Group in a case that had dominated the headlines for years.

In a documentary series co-produced with state broadcaster CCTV, the ruling Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) detailed how Tomorrow gave more than 40 million yuan (US$5.89 million) in bribes to local officials, triggering both their downfall and its own.

The first episode of the four-part series, titled “Keep Sounding the Bugle”, aired on Saturday night, just ahead of the second plenary session of the CCDI, the party’s corruption watchdog.

The meetings, which opened on Monday, will prepare the blueprint for the party’s “disciplinary inspection and supervision work” for the year, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Bribes from Tomorrow, founded by Chinese-Canadian tycoon Xiao Jianhua, were the main reason for the downfall of Zhang Xinqi, 67, a top party official from eastern Shandong province whose roles included mayor of the prosperous cities of Weifang and Qingdao.

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