Former Xizang Party chief indicted on bribery charges

Wu Yingjie, former Party chief of the Xizang autonomous region, has been officially charged with bribery and will stand trial in Beijing, China's top prosecuting authority said on Thursday.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate accused Wu of using his various positions in Xizang—including Party secretary of the regional Party committee, vice chairman of the regional government and head of the publicity department—to seek benefits for others and illegally accept property. Prosecutors said the amount involved is particularly large and that Wu should be held criminally responsible under the law.

Wu, 68, was also a member of the Standing Committee of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and director of the CPPCC National Committee's Committee on Cultural, Historical Data and Studies. He was stripped of his membership in July last year.

The country's top disciplinary watchdog previously said an investigation found Wu had seriously violated Party discipline and laws, harming the high-quality development of Xizang.

Authorities said Wu failed to implement the CPC Central Committee's strategy for governing Xizang in the new era and intervened in engineering projects for personal gain. He was also accused of fostering corruption, damaging the region's political environment, accepting gifts and money in violation of regulations, and using his position to secure special treatment for relatives.

Investigators said Wu treated public power as a tool for personal benefit and failed to truthfully explain issues during disciplinary inquiries.

A native of Shandong province, Wu began working in 1974 and joined the Communist Party of China in 1987. He spent nearly five decades in Xizang, serving in various roles, including head of the regional education department, vice-chairman of the regional government and Party chief. From October 2021 to March 2023, he was deputy director of the National People's Congress Education, Science, Culture and Public Health Committee.

During the prosecution phase, authorities informed Wu of his litigation rights, questioned him, and heard arguments from his defense counsel, the procuratorate said.