A former senior Chinese provincial official told a court he took about 13 million yuan (US$2.1 million) in bribes consisting largely of precious stones, state-run media reported yesterday.
Former Anhui Province vice governor Ni Fake (倪發科) had a “craving for jade,” the state-run Shanghai Daily said.
His trial on Monday was the latest case in a corruption crackdown under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), who has said the scourge threatens the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Ni told the court he had accepted 49 bribes, including cash, gemstones and artworks, the Shanghai Daily said.
Jade has been used in Chinese art for millennia, and has long been as valued as gold is in the West, but carrying loftier moral connotations, including purity and longevity.
Corrupt officials have in recent years turned to taking bribes in the form of art and precious stones rather than money, according to previous reports in state-run media.
The party’s top anti-graft body said Ni was “obsessed with collecting jade” and had appointed himself honorary chairman of the provincial jewelry industry association, the Shanghai Daily said.
The official wore jade accessories every day and went to jade stores every weekend, the report quoted the CCP’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection as saying.
The 60-year-old was expelled from the party last year. Since then, more senior figures have fallen to the anti-corruption campaign, including former security boss Zhou Yongkang (周永康).
However, the CCP has resisted introducing reforms seen as key measures against graft, such as publishing officials’ assets, relaxing controls on media and establishing an independent legal system.
‘CROSSING THE LINE’: China’s embassy in Seoul criticized US Forces Korea Commander General Xavier Brunson, asking if his ‘hostile’ remarks were authorized by Washington South Korea and the US are in talks over recent public remarks by the commander of US Forces Korea, Seoul’s presidential office said yesterday, after the comments drew sharp criticism from China. In a recent podcast interview, US Forces Korea Commander General Xavier Brunson described South Korea as “the dagger in the heart of Asia” from China’s east coast, prompting the Chinese embassy in Seoul to say that he had “truly crossed the line.” The interview came amid growing speculation that Washington might seek to expand the role of US Forces Korea in countering the growing regional influence of China, a key
SEEKING ORDER: Rodrigo Paz said that ‘anyone who wants to destroy the nation will have to deal with this president and the full force of the constitution’ Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz on Wednesday said that the nation was at a “breaking point” after nearly a month of protests that have caused shortages of food, fuel and medicine. Paz, who took office six months ago amid the worst economic crisis there in four decades, is battling a groundswell of fury over his policies. The political capital, La Paz, has been besieged by low-income workers and members of the indigenous majority calling for his resignation. “The country needs order and is reaching breaking point,” the 58-year-old said at a public event in La Paz, renewing his appeal for dialogue. On Tuesday, the Bolivian
Australian researchers have trained lab-grown brain cells on a silicon computer chip to play the 1990s shooter game Doom and said they are just scratching the surface of what the neurons could be capable of doing. It is the science-fiction work of biotech boffins at Cortical Labs, who researched and developed the technology that harnesses the workings of the brain’s networking system. Each so-called “biological computer” contains about 200,000 living human brain cells, grown from stem cells that were harvested from blood donations. Having mastered the simple computer game Pong, where a paddle is moved up and down to send a ball
Through the noise of rushing papers and whirring belts at a print factory in Kyoto, two creators watch their photo essay come to life in broadsheet form — part of an effort to win new audiences in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Despite the decline of the publishing industry, self-publication and handmade “zine” magazines are growing in popularity in Japan, reflecting the nation’s enduring love of paper in the digital era. While speaking to Agence France-Presse at the plant, his hands black with ink, one of the creators, Kazuma Obara, said: “I think [paper] is a medium that engages all five
RSS