Former rising political star Sun Zhengcai formally charged with bribery

According to the indictment, Sun illegally accepted ‘huge amounts of money and property’ as a government official

Last year, Sun Zhengcai was in the running to become one of the men at the top levels of power in China. Now, he’s officially been charged with bribery.

Sun had been riding high as the Communist Party head of the booming metropolis of Chongqing. However, last June he was abruptly replaced by another rising political star. The following month, China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) announced that it was carrying out an investigation into Sun for “suspected serious violations of discipline.”

In September, China’s official Xinhua news agency announced that Sun had been expelled from the Communist Party and would be prosecuted for a range of alleged offenses, including leaking party secrets, abusing his power to seek advantage for others, taking expensive gifts, and exchanging power for sex.

Xinhua said that Sun had “abandoned the party’s aims” and “seriously trampled upon the party’s political discipline,” also calling him “corrupt and degenerate,” not to mention “lazy and inactive.”

According to the latest state media update on his case, Sun has now been indicted on charges of “taking advantage of his posts to seek profit for others and illegally accepting huge amounts of money and property” while serving as a government official.

China’s criminal conviction rate stands at nearly 100%, and that figure is even higher when it comes to cases of high-level government corruption.

Sun’s sudden downfall occurred just before the much-anticipated 19th Party Congress. Sun was the youngest of the 25-member 18th Politburo, and many believed that he was destined to be moved up to the all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee.

Chongqing is the old stomping grounds of none other than Bo Xilai, China’s most famous fallen cadre whose political ambitions were crushed in 2012 after a dramatic corruption scandal surrounding himself and his family came to light following the salacious murder of British businessman Neil Heywood by Bo’s wife Gu Kailai, ending with the couple being sentenced to life in prison.

It’s been reported that China’s top leaders had criticized Sun for not doing enough to distance himself from Bo. Only days after taking over Sun’s old post, Chen Miner would demand that Chongqing officials do away with the “evil legacy” of Bo.