Tibet Party Chief Wu Yingjie Receives Suspended Death Sentence Amid Corruption Charges

Wu Yingjie, a former Communist Party chief of China's Tibet region, has been given a suspended death sentence for corruption, state-run news agency Xinhua reported. The Beijing court ruling pertains to accusations that Wu accepted bribes totaling more than 343 million yuan during his tenure in Tibet's political hierarchy.

In a career marked by numerous roles, Wu climbed the ranks from working in a farm and power plant to becoming the party chief in Tibet. His sentencing comes after sanctions by the U.S. and Canada over alleged human rights abuses in Tibet. These sanctions were implemented in response to reports of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, and mass detentions under his policies.

China's foreign ministry has denounced the sanctions as illegal, urging a retraction. Despite this, a probe was launched by China's anti-graft authority in mid-2024, resulting in Wu's conviction. Currently, Wu's assets are being confiscated, with his sentence set to convert to life imprisonment if no further crimes occur within the reprieve period.

(With inputs from agencies.)