Liu Tienan(C), former deputy head of China's National Development and Reform Commission stands trial at the Langfang Intermediate People's Court in Langfang, north China's Hebei Province, Sept. 24, 2014. The former economic planner stood trial on charges of taking bribes, at the Langfang Intermediate People's Court on Wednesday. Photo: Xinhua

 
 
Liu Tienan, a former senior official at China's top economic planning body, stood trial Wednesday for alleged bribe-taking at Langfang Intermediate People's Court in Hebei Province.

In his spoken confession, simultaneously reported on the court's official Sina Weibo account, Liu pled guilty and warned against the risks of corruption as a result of overly concentrated power at the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), urging that the rights of project approval be partly removed from the government.

Major industrial construction projects, such as large chemical plants, must have central government approval.

Liu, 60, a former deputy chief of the NDRC, was accused of accepting bribes of over 35.58 million yuan ($5.8 million). Prosecutors charged that Liu had abused his power to approve projects, and said that the majority of the bribe money was collected by his son, Liu Decheng.

Liu Decheng will be tried in a separate case.

Between 2003 and 2011, Liu Tienan "offered help" in the approval procedures for several projects from the Guangzhou Automobile Group. To return the favor, the group "hired" his son as a special Beijing representative for one of its subsidiaries. Without doing any actual work, Liu Decheng pocketed more than 1.2 million yuan in "salary."

In 2006, Liu Tienan approved a chemical project for Zhejiang Hengyi Group in return for 16.5 million yuan. Later that year, Qiu Jianlin, owner of the Hengyi Group, helped Liu's son earn more than 8 million yuan in profits through stock trading. To further please Liu Tienan, Qiu bought a villa in suburban Beijing and a Porsche, worth more than 15 million yuan combined, for Liu's son, prosecutors said.

Liu Tienan also collected fees as a middleman between companies.

According to prosecutors, Liu admitted to bribe-taking and voluntarily confessed that he had also received 18.7 million yuan in bribes which the prosecutors were not originally aware of.

Liu Tienan declined to defend himself in court, but made a concluding statement.

He sobbed as he spoke to the court, saying he blames himself for his failure to educate his son, placing them both into terrible situation.

Liu also presented a report to the Communist Party of China's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, detailing anti-graft suggestions based on his personal experience.

In that report, Liu wrote that "under the current market economy, rights of approval should be returned to the market to stop government interference at the source … so that we can build a comprehensive system to prevent abuse of power for personal gain."

All the bribes have been repaid by Liu's family.  

"Judging from Liu's behavior in court and his attitude toward admitting his guilt, he is likely to get a lighter sentence," Li Fabao, Liu Tienan's attorney, told the Global Times.

Prosecutors also pointed to Liu's cooperation during the investigation and suggested leniency in the ruling.

Qian Lieyang, a lawyer from Beijing Zhongfu Law Firm who defended former railway minister Liu Zhijun against charges of corruption, told the Global Times that Liu Tienan is likely to receive a jail term of between 15 years to life.

Liu Tienan is not the only NDRC official to be investigated for corruption.

Xu Yongsheng, deputy director of the NDRC's National Energy Administration (NEA),  Wang Jun, head of the NEA's renewable energy department, Hao Weiping, head of the nuclear power department and Wei Pengyuan, vice director of the coal department, have also been detained under suspicion of bribe-taking. None have so far been officially charged with a crime.

Previous media reports claimed that Wei stockpiled more than 100 million yuan in cash at his home, so much so that four counting machines burned out due to overwork.

"For a long time, the NDRC has had so much power that many called it the 'little State Council.' Its monopoly on power has made it prone to corruption," Qi Xingfa, a professor from East China Normal University, told the Global Times, adding that the trial of Liu Tienan is a sign that anti-graft efforts within the NDRC are entering the final stage.

"Our government still controls the power of approval for many economic activities that should be dropped in a normal market economy," Qi noted.