Former Chinese provincial legislator charged with bribery

BEIJING - Yang Chongyong, a former senior legislator in northern China's Hebei province, has been charged with bribery, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said Monday.

The indictment paper has been delivered to the Second Intermediate People's Court of Tianjin municipality, by the Second People's Procuratorate of Tianjin.

Yang is accused of taking advantage of his former posts of a member of the standing committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) of Hebei province and vice governor of Hebei province, to seek benefits for others and accepting "a huge amount" in bribes, according to the SPP.

Under the directive of the SPP, the People's Procuratorate of Tianjin transferred Yang's case to the Second People's Procuratorate of Tianjin after completing the investigation.

The prosecutors have informed Yang of his litigation rights, interrogated him, and listened to his lawyer's opinions, the SPP said.

Yang had been vice head of the Hebei Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee since 2016. Prior to that, he had served as vice governor of Hebei for eight years.

Investigators alleged that Yang used fake identity documents for outbound trips without permission, concealed changes in his marital status, and confronted investigations, according to a statement from the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection published in July 2017.

Yang also borrowed vehicles and apartments from private entrepreneurs for a lengthy period of time, the statement said.

Yang, a senior official, has severely violated the Party's code of conduct and "polluted the political ecology of Hebei province," it said.