Qin Guangrong (Chinese: 秦光荣; pinyin: Qín Guāngróng; born 25 December 1950) is a former Chinese politician. He previous served as deputy chair of the committee on internal legal affairs of the National People's Congress, from 2014 to 2018, the Communist Party Secretary of Yunnan province, the province's top political office, from 2011 to October 2014. Prior to that he was the Governor of Yunnan. Qin is related to that of his son Qin Ling, former chairman of Huarong Investment Stock Corp. His son Qin Ling was under investigation as part of the corruption scandal at the Huarong Asset Management Co. Ltd., one of China's four state-run bad-asset disposal companies.[1] He is the first leader of provincial level to spontaneously hand himself in to the anti-corruption agency of China.[2]

Qin Guangrong
秦光荣
Qin Guangrong
Vice-Chairperson of National People's Congress Supervisory and Judicial Affairs Committee
In office
12th National People's Congress
In office
November 2014 – March 2018
ChairpersonMa Wen
Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Yunnan People's Congress
In office
11th Yunnan People's Congress
In office
February 2012 – November 2014
Preceded byBai Enpei
Succeeded byLi Jiheng
Communist Party Secretary of Yunnan
In office
August 2011 – October 2014
Preceded byBai Enpei
Succeeded byLi Jiheng
Governor of Yunnan
In office
July 2007 – August 2011
Preceded byXu Rongkai
Succeeded byLi Jiheng
Executive Vice-Governor of Yunnan
In office
January 2003 – July 2007
Preceded byNiu Shaoyao
Succeeded byLuo Zhengfu
Head of Organization Department of Yunnan Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
In office
March 2001 – February 2003
Preceded byMeng Jiyao
Succeeded byLi Jiang
Secretary of the Political Law Committee of the Yunnan Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
In office
January 1999 – March 2001
Preceded byJiang Xingchang
Succeeded byLi Mingzhao
Communist Party Secretary of Changsha
In office
June 1993 – February 1998
Preceded byXia Zanzhong
Succeeded byYang Baohua
Personal details
Born (1950-12-25) December 25, 1950 (age 73)
Yongzhou, Hunan
Political partyChinese Communist Party (1972-2019, expelled)
SpouseHuang Yulan
Children1
Alma materHengyang Normal University
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinQín Guāngróng

Early life and education

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Qin was born in Yongzhou, Hunan on December 25, 1950. He attended Hengyang Normal University, majoring in Chinese language.

Career

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After graduating, he was dispatched to the Lingling campus of Hunan Normal University. He then entered the Communist Youth League system as a provincial functionary, eventually working his way up to leading positions. In June 1993, he became party chief of Changsha at the age of 38; a year later he joined the provincial party standing committee.

In January 1999, he was transferred to the southwestern province of Yunnan to become the provincial Political and Legal Affairs secretary, then cycled through the offices of organization department head, executive vice governor, and Deputy Party Secretary. He was first appointed the governor of Yunnan in January 2007. He was re-elected as Governor by the Yunnan Provincial People's Congress on January 24, 2008.[3]

Qin was named the Party Secretary for Yunnan in November 2011.[4][5]

In mid September 2013, Qin led a delegation of more than 200 people to visit Taiwan. While in Taiwan, Qin met with the former chairman of Kuomintang, Wu Po-hsiung. During the meeting, Qin encouraged Taiwanese businessmen to invest in Yunnan and make use of the province as the gateway to Southeast Asia and South Asia, creating business opportunities. He added that Yunnan welcomes Taiwanese farmers, township wardens, teachers, students, media and religious and business representatives.[6]

Aftermath of Yunnan corruption cases

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In 2014, a large number of corruption investigations were opened in Yunnan province, involving former provincial party chief Bai Enpei, former provincial governor Shen Peiping, and former Kunming executive vice mayor Li Xi. Zhang Tianxin, the former party chief of the provincial capital, Kunming, was also demoted as a result of a party investigation. As part of the overall efforts to get to the bottom of corruption cases in the province, Qin Guangrong was asked to step down as party chief in October 2014.[7] Before he left his post he was said to have told his subordinates, "I am going to go somewhere else to work now. Thank you for everything." Subsequently, Qin was named Vice Chair of the internal legal affairs committee of the National People's Congress.[8]

Qin was an alternate member of the 15th and 16th Central Committees of the Chinese Communist Party, and a full member of the 17th,[4] and 18th Central Committees.[9]

Downfall

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On April 6, 2019, Qin turned himself in to the government, which was later publicly announced on 9 May.[10] Qin Guangrong was placed under investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the party's internal disciplinary body, and the National Supervisory Commission, the highest anti-corruption agency of China.[10][11] His predecessor, Bai Enpei, was put under investigation in August 2014 and given a suspended death sentence in October 2016.[10] Qiu He, one of Qin's deputies, was being investigated in March 2015 and was sentenced for 14 years and 6 months in prison for accepting bribes of more than 24 million yuan (about 3.7 million U.S. dollar).[10]

On September 26, 2019, Qin had been expelled from the Chinese Communist Party.[12][13] Qin's case was handed over to the Procuratorate of Chengdu on in November 2019 and went on trial in the Chengdu Municipal Intermediate People's Court on September 10, 2019.[14]

On September 10, 2020, Qin stood trial at the Chengdu Municipal People's Court on charges of taking bribes.[15] The public prosecutors accused him of taking advantage of his former positions in Yunnan to seek profits for various companies and individuals in project contracting, equity transfer and job promotions between 2003 and 2014.[15] In return, he accepted money and gifts worth more than 23.89 million yuan (over 3.49 million U.S. dollars) personally or through his family members.[15]

On January 19, 2021, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for bribery and was also fined 1.5 million yuan (~$231,000) by the Chengdu Municipal Intermediate People's Court.[16][17] The court said that he was given a reduced sentence for turning himself in and returning the money he took.[17]

Personal life

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Qin married Huang Yulan (黄玉兰). Their son, Qin Ling (秦岭), was former president of Huarong Investment Stock Corp.[2] Qin Ling was one of the seven executives present of companies linked to the former Huarong boss Lai Xiaomin.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Shen Fan; Denise Jia (10 May 2019). "Exclusive: Former Yunnan Leader Surrenders in Corruption Probe". caixinglobal.com. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Yunnan's former party secretary "surrenders" to anti-corruption commission". asianews. 11 May 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Qin Guangrong re-elected governor of Yunnan Province". china.org.cn. 2008-01-24. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  4. ^ a b "Qin Guangrong elected Communist Party chief of SW China's Yunnan". Chinanews.com. 29 November 2011. Retrieved 2012-12-25.
  5. ^ "China media: Growth target". BBC. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  6. ^ Qin Guangrong .taipeitimes.com. 19 September 2013.
  7. ^ 云南成又一腐败重灾区(2014-10-15 12:02). Yuqing. Archived from the original on 2015-05-08. Retrieved 2015-04-20.
  8. ^ 云南原书记秦光荣任全国人大内司委副主任委员. QQ. November 1, 2014.
  9. ^ "List of members of the 18th CPC Central Committee". Xinhua. 2012-11-14. Archived from the original on November 16, 2012.
  10. ^ a b c d Matt Ho (9 May 2019). "Former Communist Party boss of Yunnan Qin Guangrong investigated for corruption". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  11. ^ 云南省委原书记秦光荣接受中央纪委国家监委纪律审查和监察调查. Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. 2019-05-09. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  12. ^ "Former senior legislator, Party chief of Yunnan expelled from CPC". .xinhuanet.com. 26 September 2019. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  13. ^ Gao Yuyang (高语阳) (26 September 2019). 云南原书记秦光荣被开除党籍:插手矿产资源转让. sina (in Chinese). Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  14. ^ "Former senior legislator, Party chief of Yunnan indicted for bribery". xinhuanet.com. 25 November 2019. Archived from the original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  15. ^ a b c "Former Party chief of SW China's Yunnan pleads guilty to graft". xinhuanet.com. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  16. ^ Xinhua (19 January 2021). "Former senior official sentenced to 7 yrs for graft". china.org.cn. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  17. ^ a b Matt Ho; William Zheng (19 January 2021). "Chinese court jails former Yunnan Communist Party boss Qin Guangrong for seven years for bribery". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
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Party political offices
Preceded by Communist Party Secretary of Changsha
1993-1998
Succeeded by
Preceded by Secretary of the Political Law Committee of the Yunnan Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
1999-2001
Succeeded by
Preceded by Head of Organization Department of Yunnan Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
2001-2003
Succeeded by
Preceded by Communist Party Secretary of Yunnan
2011–2014
Succeeded by
Government offices
Preceded by Executive Vice-Governor of Yunnan
2003-2007
Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of Yunnan
2007–2011
Succeeded by
Li Jiheng
Assembly seats
Preceded by
Bai Enpei
Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Yunnan People's Congress
2012-2015
Succeeded by
Li Jiheng