Ex-Provincial Vice Governor Gets 15 Years for Accepting $14 Million in Bribes
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A court in Southwest China on Tuesday sentenced a former senior provincial official to 15 years in prison for accepting more than 100 million yuan (about $14 million) in bribes.
Li Shisong, formerly a member of the Yunnan provincial Communist Party standing committee and executive vice governor, was convicted of bribery by the Guiyang Intermediate People’s Court. He was also fined 5 million yuan, with his illegal gains and their interest ordered to be turned over to the state treasury.
Li’s case is significant not just for his rank but for what it reveals about the interconnected networks of graft in local politics. His downfall is the centerpiece of a political earthquake in Qujing, a key industrial city in Yunnan province, where a succession of senior leaders have been ensnared in a wide-ranging probe into what the party has called a toxic “political ecosystem.”
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- Li Shisong, former Yunnan executive vice governor, was sentenced to 15 years for accepting over 100 million yuan ($14 million) in bribes.
- Multiple senior officials in Qujing, Yunnan, including Li’s predecessor and close colleagues, were also implicated in corruption probes.
- Authorities cited “clique culture” and are focusing anti-corruption efforts on Qujing’s “political ecosystem.”
- August 2005 - March 2024：
- Li Shisong abused his positions in the Yunnan provincial government and as party chief of Qujing to accept bribes totaling over 100.25 million yuan.
- May 2024：
- Li Shisong made his last public appearance.
- June 2024：
- The party’s top anti-graft watchdog announced Li Shisong was under investigation.
- 2024：
- Li Wenrong, Li Shisong’s predecessor as Qujing party chief, came under investigation a few months after Li Shisong.
- By December 2024：
- Li Shisong was expelled from the party and public office.
- January 2025：
- Feng Zhili, head of Yunnan’s discipline inspection commission, named Qujing as the focus of a stronghold investigation for political corruption.
- November 19, 2025：
- A court in Southwest China sentenced Li Shisong to 15 years in prison for accepting more than 100 million yuan in bribes.
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