Former Hainan vice-governor prosecuted for taking bribes

Ni Qiang, a former member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China Hainan Provincial Committee and former secretary-general of the committee, has been prosecuted on suspicion of taking bribes, the Supreme People's Procuratorate said on Monday.

The case was investigated by the National Commission of Supervision before being transferred to procuratorial authorities for review and prosecution. The SPP approved Ni's arrest on suspicion of bribery and designated the People's Procuratorate of Liuzhou in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region to handle the case.

The Liuzhou procuratorate recently filed a public prosecution against Ni with the Intermediate People's Court of Liuzhou.

According to the indictment, Ni allegedly used his positions, including deputy Party secretary, vice-mayor and mayor of Haikou, secretary-general of the Hainan provincial government, vice-governor of Hainan, and member of the Standing Committee and secretary-general of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee, to seek benefits for others and illegally accepted a particularly large amount of money and valuables in return.

Prosecutors said Ni should be held criminally liable for bribery.

They said they informed Ni of his legal rights, questioned him and heard the opinions of his defense counsel during the review and prosecution stage.

Ni, 60, a native of Jiangsu province, began working in 1987 and joined the CPC in 1991. He became mayor of Haikou in 2013, secretary-general of the Hainan provincial government in 2018, vice-governor of Hainan in 2021, and a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee in 2023.

Ni was placed under investigation in June 2025 and was expelled from the Party and removed from public office in February 2026.

In a statement issued in February 2026, anti-graft authorities said Ni had made improper comments on major policies and decisions of the CPC Central Committee, failed to fully implement major decisions and plans of the central authorities, resisted organizational investigation and engaged in superstitious activities over a long period.

The authorities also said Ni had a strong sense of privilege, sought special treatment for himself and his relatives, helped others in matters involving the selection and appointment of officials, allowed his spouse to receive pay without performing actual work, and used his positions to seek benefits for others in project contracting and business operations.