Bai Yun (; born December 1960) is a Chinese regional politician from Shanxi province. She was the Communist Party Secretary of

Yuncheng Yuncheng is the southernmost prefecture-level city in Shanxi province, People's Republic of China. It borders Linfen and Jincheng municipalities to the north and east, and Henan (Luoyang and Jiyuan to the east, Sanmenxia to the south) and Shaan ...

between 2012 and 2013. Bai was the first female official of provincial-ministerial rank to be investigated for corruption after the

18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party The 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was held November 8-15, 2012 at the Great Hall of the People. It was preceded by the 17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. Due to term and age limits restrictions, seven of ...

. At the time the investigation against her was opened, she was serving as a member of the Shanxi Provincial Party Committee and the Head of the

United Front Work Department The United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (UFWD; ) is a department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) which is officially tasked with "united front work". For this endeav ...

of Shanxi Province. She was expelled from the Party in 2015 for abuse of power and accepting bribes.

Career

Bai Yun was born and raised in

Wutai County Wutai County () is a county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Xinzhou, in the northeast of Shanxi Province, China, bordering Hebei province to the east. It is named after Mount Wutai, which is located within its borders. I ...

, Shanxi, she earned a master's degree in business administration from

Renmin University of China The Renmin University of China (RUC; ) is a national key public research university in Beijing, China. The university is affiliated to the Ministry of Education, and co-funded by the Ministry and the Beijing Municipal People's Government. RUC ...

in 1997.白云（女）任山西省委常委（图/简历）
/ref> Bai Yun became involved in politics in December 1986 and joined the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

in December 1979. Beginning in 1984, she served in several posts in

Shuozhou Shuozhou is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi province, China, bordering Inner Mongolia to the northwest. It is situated along the upper reaches of the Fen River. The prefecture as a whole has an area of about and, in 2010, a pop ...

, Shanxi, including

Communist Youth League The Communist Youth League of China (CYLC), also known as the Young Communist League of China or simply the Communist Youth League (CYL), is a youth movement of the People's Republic of China for youth between the ages of 14 and 28, run by the ...

Secretary of the municipal party committee, Communist Youth League Vice Secretary of provincial party committee, and Secretary of party committee. She was appointed as the Deputy Party Secretary of

Lüliang Lüliang or Lyuliang () is a prefecture-level city in the west of Shanxi province, People's Republic of China, bordering Shaanxi province across the Yellow River to the west, Jinzhong and the provincial capital of Taiyuan to the east, Linfen to ...

in February 2004, a position she held until February 2006, when she was transferred to

Yangquan Yangquan ( ) is a prefecture-level city in the east of Shanxi province, People's Republic of China, bordering Hebei province to the east. Situated at the eastern edge of the Loess Plateau and the west side of the Taihang Mountains, known as "Rip ...

as the Deputy Party Secretary. After two months, she also served as the Mayor. In April 2009, she was promoted to become the Party Secretary, earning full departmental-level ('' zhengtingji'') rank. In January 2012, Bai was named acting Party Secretary of

, replacing Gao Weidong (). In January 2013, she became a member of the provincial

Party Standing Committee Members of the standing committees of the Chinese Communist Party provincial-level committees, commonly referred to as ''Shengwei Changwei'' (), make up the top ranks of the provincial-level organizations of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). I ...

. One month later, she was elevated to the head of the United Front Work Department of the provincial Party committee.

Downfall

On August 29, 2014, it was announced that Bai Yun was undergoing investigation by the

Central Commission for Discipline Inspection The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) is the highest internal control institution of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), tasked with enforcing internal rules and regulations and combating corruption and malfeasance in the pa ...

for "serious violations of laws and regulations". Several other provincial Standing Committee members were also investigated as part of a "political earthquake" that shook the province in 2014. In February 2015, at the conclusion of the internal party investigation, Bai Yun was accused of taking "massive bribes" and abuse of power, and expelled from the Communist Party. Bai was tried at the People's Intermediate Court in

Nantong Nantong (; alternate names: Nan-t'ung, Nantung, Tongzhou, or Tungchow; Qihai dialect: ) is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Jiangsu province of China, province, China. Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, near the river mouth. ...

, Jiangsu province. The prosecution accused Bai of taking some 17.81 million yuan (~$2.3 million) in bribes during her term as party chief of Yangquan, from the chief executive of an environmental engineering company and "16 other individuals," in exchange for favourable treatment in the approval of projects and the promotion of subordinates. Bai did not contest the charges. On October 19, 2016, Bai was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bai, Yun 1960 births Living people People's Republic of China politicians from Shanxi Politicians from Xinzhou Political office-holders in Shanxi Mayors of places in China Renmin University of China alumni Expelled members of the Chinese Communist Party Chinese politicians convicted of corruption 21st-century Chinese women politicians 21st-century Chinese politicians Chinese Communist Party politicians from Shanxi