Yang Weize

Yang Weize (; born October 1962) is a former Chinese politician. He was the Party Secretary of Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province, from 2011 to 2015. Prior to that, he served as the party secretary in the neighbouring city of Wuxi for seven years, and before that the Mayor of Suzhou. In 2015, Yang was put under investigation for corruption by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. He was tried and convicted on corruption charges and sentenced to twelve years and six months in prison in December 2016.

Career Yang was born in Nantong, Jiangsu province in August 1962. He traces his ancestry to the Changzhou area. His father was a hospital administrator in the city of Nantong. Yang went to college at the Nanjing Marine Engineering Institute , where he studied marine and seaport engineering. He began working in the Jiangsu provincial transportation department in August 1981. In 1998, he became the provincial director of transportation. The next year, he was transferred to become Deputy Party Secretary of Suzhou, and later Mayor. In 2004, Yang became the party secretary of Wuxi, becoming first-in-charge of the southern Jiangsu city. By 2006, at age 44, he had earned a seat on the provincial Party Standing Committee.

According to the Beijing Youth Daily, during Yang's term in Suzhou, he reportedly maintained close relations with the family of Zhou Yongkang, a former member of the powerful Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, who was a native of the region. Yang was said to have received praise from Zhou for his work in controlling the razing of local residential neighbourhoods near Zhou's hometown. In 2011, he became the Party Secretary of the provincial capital Nanjing. Chinese language media have suggested that Yang was once subject to a formal disciplinary complaint by Gao Dezheng , former executive Vice Governor of Jiangsu and the father-in-law of Ji Jianye; Ji was Mayor of Nanjing during Yang's term as the city's party boss. As the city's two most prominent political leaders, Ji and Yang had an uneasy, often hostile relationship. Yang publicly criticized Ji over a rainwater diversion construction project in Nanjing led by the mayor. Ji was abruptly removed from his office of mayor (Shuanggui) in December 2013 to face a corruption investigation.

Yang was an alternate member of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.

Investigation After the dismissal of Ji Jianye, rumours about Yang himself being "in trouble" began circulating in late 2013. For much of 2014, Yang executed the party's anti-corruption and "mass line" campaigns with great fervour in Nanjing, ostensibly as a display of loyalty to the new party leadership under CCP general secretary Xi Jinping. In addition, in preparation for the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, Yang called upon the city to embrace the slogan, "work hard for one hundred days, clean up the environment." Between April and August, various "clean-up" initiatives took place across the city. During this time, Yang was said to have visited all the sporting venues and surrounding areas to ensure that work was being completed as planned. The "one hundred day clean-up" campaign earned Yang praise from local residents. In July 2014, state media announced the investigation into China's former security chief and Wuxi-area native Zhou Yongkang. In September 2014, Yang's friend and colleague Feng Yajun , then serving as the district party secretary of Jianye District and a member of the Nanjing Party Standing Committee, was detained for investigation. Several days later, Lou Xuequan , former party secretary of Luhe District of Nanjing, committed suicide in his home. His wife and deputy chief of staff was also reported to have been detained on the same day. Yang was chairing a "democratic life meeting" when he was informed by an assistant that his presence was immediately required at the provincial party headquarters. Yang promptly adjourned the meeting and made his way there.

Expulsion and sentencing Following an investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, on July 31, 2015, Yang was expelled from the Chinese Communist Party. In an official statement, the CCDI accused Yang of "gravely violating organizational discipline, hiding personal information [from the authorities], accepting cash gifts, seeking gain for others using the convenience of his office [...] violating the Eight-point Regulation, frequenting high-end hotels and private clubs, accepting banquet invitations from others; using the convenience of his office to seek promotion or further business interests of others, and taking huge bribes." Of these offenses cited, most were merely violations of party discipline; however, bribery constituted a crime. Yang's case was forwarded to judicial authorities for prosecution.

On December 14, 2016, Yang Weize was sentenced for 12 years and 6 months in prison, having been convicted on charges of bribery by the Ningbo People's Intermediate Court. Two million yuan of personal assets were seized, and all of his earnings deemed to have come from corrupt sources were confiscated by the national treasury. The total value of bribes recorded by the court was 16.43 million yuan.