Former Xizang political adviser sentenced to death with reprieve

Jiang Jie, a former senior political adviser in the Xizang autonomous region, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for accepting more than 225 million yuan ($31.8 million) in bribes, a court in Tianjin announced on Saturday.

Following the two-year reprieve, if no new offenses are uncovered, his prison term will be reduced to life imprisonment.

He was also deprived of his political rights for life, and all of his personal assets were confiscated, according to the ruling made by the Tianjin No 1 Intermediate People's Court.

Jiang's illicit gains and relevant interests will also be recovered and turned over to the State treasury, the ruling said.

From 2000 to 2023, Jiang, former vice-chairman of the regional committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was found to have taken advantage of his various positions in Shandong province and Xizang to seek profits for some individuals and departments in matters such as administrative approvals, project contracts, land transfers and work promotions. He accepted over 225 million yuan in bribes in return, the ruling showed.

The court said that Jiang's actions constituted the crime of bribery, and the significant amount he accepted caused great harm to the interests of the country and the people.

"Considering he confessed to the offense, voluntarily shared some of the bribery facts unknown to investigators, provided clues about a few other major cases and returned his illicit gains, we've leniently punished him, giving him a suspended death sentence," the court added.

Public information shows that Jiang, 59, joined the Communist Party of China and started his career as a journalist in Shandong, his home province, in 1985.

He served in various positions in Shandong, including as head of Huangdao district in Qingdao and mayor of Dongying.

He moved to Xizang in 2013 and became a vice-chairman of the regional committee of the CPPCC in 2022.

Jiang was placed under investigation in July last year on suspicion of severely violating Party disciplines and national laws.

In January, he was expelled from the Party and dismissed from public office. Five months later, he was indicted on the bribery charge brought by prosecutors in Tianjin.

The Tianjin court publicly heard Jiang's case in July.