https://www.scmp.com/rss/282462/feed Born in 1963, agricultural expert Sun Zhengcai was one of China's youngest government ministers when he was appointed Minister of Agriculture in 2006. He moved to head up the Communist Party Committee in the Northeastern province of Jilin in 2009, and became Party chief in Chongqing after the 18th Communist Party Congress in November 2012. He was widely regarded as a rising star in the Party's top ranks until his downfall. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Yuanyue Dang Yuanyue Dang The mayor of China’s southwestern metropolis of Chongqing has been placed under investigation by the country’s top anti-corruption agency. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) issued a statement on Friday saying that Hu Henghua, mayor of Chongqing and deputy secretary of the city’s Communist Party municipal committee, was under investigation for “serious violations of discipline and law” – a term commonly used to refer to corruption. Chongqing is among China’s four centrally... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3347347/chongqing-mayor-under-investigation-chinas-anti-corruption-crackdown-gathers-pace?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3347347/chongqing-mayor-under-investigation-chinas-anti-corruption-crackdown-gathers-pace?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Mar 2026 10:52:41 +0000 Zhou Xin Zhou Xin China has long had an uneasy relationship with video games. On the one hand, the video gaming industry has been the subject of scrutiny by authorities – just three years ago, an official newspaper had accused the sector of churning out “spiritual opium” for Chinese youth. On the other hand, a boom in the industry in recent years has made games a lucrative business. But that tension magically dissolved with the arrival of Black Myth: Wukong, probably the most successful video game ever made in... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3275939/why-chinas-video-gaming-industry-needs-more-titles-black-myth-wukong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3275939/why-chinas-video-gaming-industry-needs-more-titles-black-myth-wukong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Aug 2024 23:00:14 +0000 Sun Zhengcai, a former political high-flyer once tipped to be among China’s next generation of leaders, was sentenced to life in prison for bribery on Tuesday. Sun’s downfall followed that of Bo Xilai, his predecessor as party chief in Chongqing, and an ongoing crackdown in the southwestern megacity could snare a senior police officer who was once close to Bo. The Tianjin No 1 Intermediate People’s Court said Sun, a former member of the Politburo, was convicted of taking more than 170 million... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2145103/former-chinese-rising-star-sun-zhengcai-sentenced-life?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2145103/former-chinese-rising-star-sun-zhengcai-sentenced-life?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 May 2018 03:39:48 +0000 A disgraced Chinese politician who has been accused of plotting against the Communist Party pleaded guilty to corruption charges on Thursday.  Sun Zhengcai, 54, the former party chief of the southwestern megacity of Chongqing, was once considered to be a leadership contender who could succeed President Xi Jinping. But he was abruptly sacked and placed under investigation in July last year, three months before Xi was appointed the party chief for a second term. During the trial at the Tianjin... https://www.scmp.com/politics/former-chinese-star-politician-sun-zhengcai-admits-corruption/article/2141379?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/politics/former-chinese-star-politician-sun-zhengcai-admits-corruption/article/2141379?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Apr 2018 10:31:31 +0000 Former political high-flyer Sun Zhengcai, who was once tipped to be among the next generation of Chinese leaders, pleaded guilty in a court in northern China on Thursday to taking 170 million yuan (US$27 million) in bribes. The Tianjin First Intermediate People’s Court said in a statement that Sun, a former member of China’s Politburo, admitted taking the bribes, quoting him as saying that he “had only himself to blame”. The court adjourned after the half-day hearing and said it would hand down... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2141361/ex-chinese-government-high-flyer-trial-over-graft?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2141361/ex-chinese-government-high-flyer-trial-over-graft?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Apr 2018 02:00:15 +0000 The corruption case against former senior Chinese official Sun Zhengcai involves massive sums rarely seen in the country’s modern history, the government of one of the provinces he used to run said in comments published on Wednesday. Chinese prosecutors this week charged Sun with bribery during various posts going back 15 years in Chongqing, Beijing, Jilin province, and as minister of agriculture, the latest development in a corruption investigation into a man once considered a contender for top... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2133355/vast-sums-linked-corruption-case-fallen-chinese-high?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2133355/vast-sums-linked-corruption-case-fallen-chinese-high?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Feb 2018 08:01:15 +0000 Several Chinese businesswomen reportedly linked to the investigation into disgraced former Politburo member Sun Zhengcai have been detained, according to sources and media reports. Duan Weihong, a 49-year-old Tianjin native, was in custody and had been uncontactable “for a considerable period”, sources said. Liu Fengzhou, a 55-year-old Beijing businesswoman and art collector, was detained in May, and Huang Suzhi, from Jiangsu, had been held since April, according to Chinese news outlet... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2133249/chinese-businesswomen-detained-fallout-graft?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2133249/chinese-businesswomen-detained-fallout-graft?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Feb 2018 02:17:09 +0000 Sun Zhengcai, the former member of China’s Politburo who was once tipped as a possible future leader, has been formally charged with bribery, the top prosecutor’s office announced on Tuesday. Sun, who was abruptly sacked as party boss of the megacity Chongqing in July and placed under investigation for corruption in the run-up to the Communist Party’s leadership reshuffle in October, is now facing trial. Prosecutors in the northern metropolis of Tianjin submitted an indictment to the city’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2133154/china-issues-formal-charges-against-former-communist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2133154/china-issues-formal-charges-against-former-communist?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Feb 2018 05:00:15 +0000 China’s prosecutor has begun formal legal proceedings for alleged corruption against the former senior politician Sun Zhengcai, once considered a contender to be one of the nation’s top leaders. The Supreme People’s Procuratorate said in a brief statement it had opened an investigation against Sun for suspected corruption and he was now under detention. The case was proceeding, it added, without giving any other details. Communist Party expels former high-flyer Sun Zhengcai in countdown to key... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2123802/criminal-case-opened-against-sun-zhengcai-graft-charges?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2123802/criminal-case-opened-against-sun-zhengcai-graft-charges?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Dec 2017 06:45:30 +0000 The disgraced former boss of the southwestern Chinese megacity of Chongqing, Sun Zhengcai, who was once touted as a possible future state leader, has been labelled a “careerist politician” and a “conspirator” by the Communist Party’s anti-graft agency. The same charges, which were detailed in the work report presented by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection at the 19th national party congress that ended last week, but made public only on Sunday, were also levelled at former security... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2117669/chinas-anti-graft-agency-labels-ex-chongqing-boss-sun?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2117669/chinas-anti-graft-agency-labels-ex-chongqing-boss-sun?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Oct 2017 14:00:30 +0000 The former police chief of the scandal-plagued major southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing has been expelled from the ruling Communist Party after a probe by the anti-corruption watchdog found he wasted public money and abused his power. He Ting, 55, was abruptly removed from his post without explanation in June, a position he had held since early 2012. His downfall preceded that of Chongqing’s former top official, one-time city party chief Sun Zhengcai, who was sacked in July and then put... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2114569/former-chongqing-police-chief-expelled-communist-party?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2114569/former-chongqing-police-chief-expelled-communist-party?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Oct 2017 10:45:45 +0000 Chongqing party chief Sun Zhengcai’s sudden fall from grace has followed a familiar pattern in modern Chinese politics, evoking memories of three of his peers who suffered a similar fate in recent decades. His predecessor Bo Xilai five years ago, former Beijing party boss Chen Xitong in 1995 and ex-Shanghai party boss Chen Liangyu in 2006 were all jailed on bribery charges, embezzlement and abuse of power while also being accused of political wrongdoings. Is Xi’s new ‘core’ status a sign of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/2114307/when-we-say-new-order-chinese-communist-party-what-exactly-are-we?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/2114307/when-we-say-new-order-chinese-communist-party-what-exactly-are-we?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Oct 2017 03:32:04 +0000 Former political rising star Sun Zhengcai has been expelled from the Communist Party and will face prosecution, state media reported yesterday – two months after his shock downfall and just weeks before the party leadership reshuffle SCMP, Sept. 30 I cannot understand the “shock” here. What is so surprising in the news that yet another top party boss has been sacked for taking bribes and living the high life on public money? Corruption does not just afflict a command economy randomly as an... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2113675/corruption-life-and-soul-command-economy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2113675/corruption-life-and-soul-command-economy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Oct 2017 08:00:45 +0000 Hu Chunhua, the man once tipped to take over China’s reins as a leader alongside disgraced Chongqing chief Sun Zhengcai, has thrown his weight behind Beijing’s decision to expel the former high-flyer. Chairing a meeting of senior cadres on Saturday, the Guangdong provincial party boss passed on details of the investigation and dismissal of Sun, urging Communist Party members to learn a lesson from the case, according to official media reports. He also called for loyalty to Xi and the party’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2113552/provincial-chief-expresses-support-sun-zhengcais?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2113552/provincial-chief-expresses-support-sun-zhengcais?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Oct 2017 05:00:30 +0000 The downfall of heavyweight Chinese politician Sun Zhengcai could implicate a dozen other top officials in the western megacity Chongqing, sources told the South China Morning Post. Once the party boss of Chongqing and a candidate to be one of China’s next generation of leaders, Sun was expelled from the Communist Party on Friday and faces prosecution. He was placed under investigation for corruption in July. It comes ahead of an important power reshuffle in a few weeks that will decide China’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2113515/dozen-more-chongqing-officials-could-be-caught-sun?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2113515/dozen-more-chongqing-officials-could-be-caught-sun?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Sep 2017 12:30:30 +0000 Former political star Sun Zhengcai has been expelled from China’s Communist Party and will face prosecution, state media reported on Friday – two months after his shock downfall and just weeks before a key five-yearly leadership reshuffle. Sun, once seen as a front runner for the highest reaches of political power, was dumped as the party boss of the megacity Chongqing in July and investigated by party graft-busters for “serious violations of party discipline”. Xinhua reported that he had been... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2113438/chinas-communist-party-expels-former-political-high?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2113438/chinas-communist-party-expels-former-political-high?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Sep 2017 11:30:30 +0000 Chongqing has appointed a new police chief, filling a hot seat in the Chinese megacity that over the past five years has been inextricably linked to the demise of not one but two of its former party bosses. Deng Huilin, 51, former deputy police chief of Hubei province and an ex-general office director at the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, will take up the job, the Jiulongpo district government said in a statement released on Friday. Ex-Chongqing Communist Party boss under... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2104589/can-chongqings-new-police-chief-break-curse-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2104589/can-chongqings-new-police-chief-break-curse-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Jul 2017 08:34:31 +0000 It does not take much to find people who still talk in reverential terms about Bo Xilai, Chongqing’s incarcerated and disgraced former Communist Party head who was removed from office more than five years ago. By contrast, it is difficult to find anyone who has similar regard for Sun Zhengcai, who lost the same party job earlier this month after he was accused by Beijing of failing to rid the city of Bo’s influence and legacy. People in this metropolis of 30 million remember Bo fondly as a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2104202/praise-bo-xilai-chongqing-city-faces-fresh-graft-probe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2104202/praise-bo-xilai-chongqing-city-faces-fresh-graft-probe?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jul 2017 08:44:08 +0000 Officials in Chongqing in southwest China have been warned to strictly toe the Communist Party line following the announcement of an investigation into former party boss and Politburo member Sun Zhengcai. The official Chongqing Daily reported on Tuesday that the city had called a special meeting of senior cadres the previous day following Beijing’s decision to investigate Sun, once seen as a candidate for the next generation of Chinese leadership. High-flier in Chinese politics under... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2104116/cadres-chongqing-told-toe-line-amid-high-level?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2104116/cadres-chongqing-told-toe-line-amid-high-level?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jul 2017 01:25:31 +0000 A thick fog of politics has engulfed Beijing, and it will not lift until October or early November, when the 19th Congress of the Communist Party has concluded. But occasional events and patterns from the past give us scope to peep through gaps in the murk, and identify some pointers of what to expect at the 19th congress. The placing under investigation of Sun Zhengcai (孫政才), a Politburo member and Chongqing (重慶) party ­secretary, is one such occasion. This is a landmark development, as only... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2103271/what-potential-successors-fate-says-about-xi-jinpings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2103271/what-potential-successors-fate-says-about-xi-jinpings?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Jul 2017 09:30:45 +0000 Until his failure to win a seat on the Communist Party's powerful Politburo at its national congress in November, new Supreme People's Court president Zhou Qiang had been viewed as a rising political star. Hu Chunhua and Sun Zhengcai, both three years younger than the 52-year-old Zhou, have now eclipsed him on the political stage after joining the 25-member Politburo, and are in pole position to become the core of the party's sixth-generation leadership. Zhou's new post as the country's top... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1191858/zhou-qiangs-new-role-top-judge-largely-symbolic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1191858/zhou-qiangs-new-role-top-judge-largely-symbolic?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The Communist Party has named rising star Sun Zhengcai as party chief of Chongqing, the epicentre of the nation's worst political turmoil in more than two decades. Sources say Shanghai vice-mayor Tu Guangshao will soon team up with him, becoming the southwestern municipality's new mayor. Sun, 49, became one of the Politburo's two youngest members when he was admitted to the powerful body after last week's party congress. The top post in Chongqing was previously held by Vice-Premier Zhang... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1087047/rising-star-sun-zhengcai-named-party-chief-chongqing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1087047/rising-star-sun-zhengcai-named-party-chief-chongqing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The 15 new faces installed on the powerful Politburo include at least two politicians widely seen as candidates for top posts when Xi Jinping's generation leaves office a decade from now. Among those joining the 25-member panel are Inner Mongolia party secretary Hu Chunhua and Jilin party secretary Sun Zhengcai, both members of the so-called sixth generation of leadership prospects at the party congress in 2022. Hu and Sun, both 49, are poised to take up two weighty posts fairly soon. Hu is... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1083434/next-generation-waiting-wings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1083434/next-generation-waiting-wings?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Sun Chunlan Fujian party secretary Sun Chunlan is the only female provincial party chief. She is tipped to be party boss for Tianjin , one of the five national cities, in this round of reshuffles. One of the few senior women cadres, 62-year-old Sun spent most of her career in trade unions and women's federations. Starting as a worker at Anshan Clock and Watch Factory in Liaoning in 1974, she then rose from director of the Anshan Women's Federation to become the director of Liaoning Provincial... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1083401/politburo-rising-stars?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1083401/politburo-rising-stars?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 As jockeying for top seats in the Communist Party's leadership entered the final days, several officials tipped as rising stars played it safe yesterday, ducking questions about promotions - or anything else sensitive. Two heavily favoured candidates for seats on the powerful Politburo - Sun Zhengcai and Hu Chunhua , the party chiefs of Jilin and Inner Mongolia respectively - restricted their public comments to only the most basic provincial matters. Sun, 49, one of the youngest ministry-level... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1079028/rising-stars-clam-when-quizzed-reporters-future-prospects?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1079028/rising-stars-clam-when-quizzed-reporters-future-prospects?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000