Former senior Jiangsu legislator pleads guilty to bribery, abuse of power

Liu Handong, a former top legislator in Jiangsu province, pleaded guilty on Thursday to accepting bribes, abuse of power and illegal trading of land use rights while on trial in Xiangyang, Hubei province.

According to the indictment filed by prosecutors, Liu, the former vice chairman of the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee, unfairly benefited from his various positions from 1999 to 2023 and abused his authority to generate profits for others, illegally extorting 245 million yuan in return. More than ($34.4 million) in bribes were paid.

He also abused his authority in matters such as the transfer of land use rights and the exemption of land value-added tax, causing significant losses to public assets and state interests when he worked in Jiangpu county, Nanjing city from 2001 to 2017. Prosecutors said the Jiangsu Ministry of Finance did this.

They added that Liu was also involved in illegal land use rights trading in 2003.

Prosecutors presented evidence to the Xiangyang Intermediate People’s Court, saying Li should be held criminally responsible for taking bribes, abusing power and illegally trading in land use rights. He confessed his crime in his last statement at the hearing.

The court said the decision would be announced later. More than 20 people attended the hearing, including national MPs and political advisors.

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