Yao Mugen
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Yao Mugen (; born November 1957) is a former Chinese politician from
Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...
province. He served as Vice-Governor of Jiangxi from 2011 to 2014, and prior to that Chairman of the Jiangxi Development and Reform Commission, a provincial body with broad powers over the economy. He was removed from his posts and investigated by the Communist Party's anti-graft agency in March 2014.


Biography

Yao was born into a family of farmers and was raised in Ganzhu village, located near the city of
Zhangshu Zhangshu (), formerly Qingjiang County (Tsingkiang) (), is a county-level city under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yichun, in the west-central part of Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is ...
,
Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...
province. His father was a one-time village Communist Party branch secretary (essentially, the leader of the village). He was the first of three children. He graduated from
Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics The Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics () is a public, coeducational research university located in Nanchang, the capital city of Jiangxi province, China. History Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics (JUFE), founded in 1923 in ...
in 1986, where he majored in economics. After graduation, Yao worked in Jiangxi Planning Commission. In December 1998, he rose through the ranks to become the deputy director of Jiangxi Provincial General Office. In August 2000 he was promoted to become the Deputy Secretary General of Jiangxi People's Government and Chairman of Jiangxi Provincial General Office, a position he held until March 2007. In March 2007, Yao was promoted to become the Chairman of Jiangxi Development and Reform Commission. In 2009, internet postings surfaced alleging that Yao's niece had been smoking luxury-brand cigarettes and frequently sported a
Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French high-end Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its produc ...
bag, attracting online criticism and speculation about his family's wealth. The Development and Reform Commission (''Fagaiwei'') is one of the most powerful bodies in the province. As ''Fagaiwei'' chief, Yao and his office was in charge of approving large investment and construction projects across the province. In May 2011, Yao was promoted to become the Vice-Governor of Jiangxi. This was not Yao's preferred position but he took up the job anyway; he was said to have wanted a seat on 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 ...
, the real center of power, and also take on a first-in-charge position as party chief of a major city. During his vice-governorship he visited his home village to attend the 80th birthday of his father. On March 22, 2014, 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 par ...
(CCDI) announced that Yao was undergoing investigation for "serious violations of laws and regulations". It was said that Yao's investigation was a harbinger for the fate of former Jiangxi party chief
Su Rong Su Rong (; born October 1948) is a former senior regional official and politician in China. He began his career in his native Jilin, and successively served as Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary of Qinghai, Gansu, and Jiangxi provinces. I ...
(term in Jiangxi 2007–2013) under whom Yao's career had flourished. Indeed, on June 14, 2014, Su Rong, who had then rose to become Vice-Chairman of the national legislative advisory body, was himself detained for investigation. On August 6, 2014, following the CCDI investigation, state media announced Yao's expulsion from the Communist Party of China. Yao was said to have abused his power for the illicit gain of others and taken bribes personally and through his family. Yao was arrested and arraigned by the
Supreme People's Procuratorate The Supreme People's Procuratorate () is the highest national agency responsible for legal prosecution and investigation in the People's Republic of China. Conceived initially in 1949 as the Supreme People's Prosecutor's Office, the agency was r ...
. He was indicted on charges of bribery, then tried in the Intermediate People's Court in
Xiamen Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, ...
. On December 18, 2015, Yao Mugen was sentenced to 13-year jail and confiscate personal property worth 3 million yuan (~$463,000) for taking bribes worth 23 million yuan by the court.


Family

Yao had two younger brothers, both of whom were also officials; one was a county party chief, another worked for a local prosecution agency. Yao was married to Yi Anping (), who was also detained for investigation. Yi was widely rumoured in Jiangxi province to also be a major shareholder of two listed companies headquartered in Jiangxi, though this has not been conclusively proven. A local resident being interviewed about the Yao case remarked, "there's rumours flying around everywhere about this... at least get a stranger to open up an account on your behalf o it's not suspicious it's ridiculous to think that he would let his wife take this on personally."


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yao, Mugen 1957 births People from Zhangshu Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics alumni Living people Vice-governors of Jiangxi Chinese politicians convicted of corruption