Former vice-president of Beihang University pleads guilty to bribes

Zhang Guang, former vice-president of Beihang University, pleaded guilty to taking bribes while standing trial in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, on Friday.

According to an indictment provided by the Nanchang prosecutors, from 2008 to 2022, Zhang was found to have made use of his positions in the Beijing-based university, including head of its continuing education school, assistant to its president, and vice-president, to seek profits for others in various matters such as business operation, enrollment, recruitment and work promotion, and in return he accepted bribes worth more than 21.2 million yuan ($2.98 million).

The prosecutors submitted evidence related to the bribes to the Nanchang Intermediate People's Court, saying that Zhang should be held criminally liable for the crime of bribery.

During the trial, Zhang and his lawyer also shared their opinions on the evidence, and Zhang confessed to the offense in his final statement.

The court said that the verdict will be announced at a later date.

More than 30 people, including national lawmakers and political advisers, attended the case hearing.

Public information shows that Zhang, 51, a native of Heilongjiang province, was placed under disciplinary and supervisory investigation in August 2023. He was expelled from the Communist Party of China and dismissed from public office at the beginning of this year.

In May, he was indicted on the charge of bribery.