(TibetanReview.net, Mar22’24) —Ji Guogang, a Chinese official who has held various senior positions in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) since 2013, including as the former vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the Regional People’s Congress, has pleaded guilty for corruption at a trial held in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, on Mar 21, and will be sentenced later, reported China’s official chinadaily.com.cn.
Ji, 61, has pleaded guilty to accepting bribery amounting to about 44 million yuan ($6.11 million) and abuse of power in a trial held by the Intermediate People’s Court of Chengdu, the report said.
The report cited prosecutors from the Chengdu People’s Procuratorate as saying that from 2002 to 2022, Ji utilized his positions, including as deputy director of the Fixed Asset Investment Department of the National Development and Reform Commission and head of the Xizang Development and Reform Commission, to facilitate entities and individuals in obtaining project approvals and equity transfers.
In exchange, he, either directly or through his relatives, has accepted money and property totalling more than 43.98 million yuan.
Also, from 2016 to 2021, while serving as the president and legal representative of the Xizang Development Investment Group, he engaged in favouritism, abuse of power and has caused particularly significant losses to State interests, the report said.
He has been tried for the crimes of bribery and abuse of power and the verdict will be announced later.
Ji was stated to have joined the Chinese government in 1983 and become a Communist Party of China member a year later.
The report further said he previously worked at the National Development and Reform Commission and its predecessor institute from 1983 to 2012. He became the head of the Xizang Development and Reform Commission in Jan 2013 and concurrently served as the vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the Xizang Regional People’s Congress from Nov 2016 until Dec 2022.
He was placed under disciplinary and supervisory investigation in Nov 2022 and expelled from the Party and removed from his public posts in May 2023, the report added.
He was approved for arrest in Jun 2023 and prosecuted three months later.