Former University President Expelled for ‘Fueling Academic Corruption’

1. The former president of Central South University, Zhang Yaoxue, has been expelled from the Communist Party and dismissed from public office, with his case transferred to prosecutors, seven months after an investigation was announced. [para. 1]

2. China's top anti-corruption bodies stated that Zhang abused his authority to benefit others in personnel appointments, academic titles, and honors, accepting money and valuables, and that his actions fostered "unhealthy practices and corruption" in academia. [para. 2] The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Commission of Supervision announced these penalties alongside actions against two other officials, bringing the total of centrally managed officials punished and sent to judicial authorities in 2026 to 23. [para. 3][para. 4]

3. The official notice accused Zhang of losing his ideals, violating frugality codes by accepting banquets, failing to answer party inquiries honestly, and taking gifts and cash. [para. 5] Investigators said he turned public power into a tool for private gain, accepted large sums for helping in business operations and job promotions, and suspected him of taking bribes, with illicit gains to be confiscated and criminal matters transferred for possible indictment. [para. 6][para. 7]

4. Zhang, 70, was formally investigated on Oct. 17, 2025, over eight years after retiring as president of Central South University. He was an early researcher in computer network technology, helped develop China's first network-access router, and proposed a transparent network terminal. He was elected to the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2007. [para. 8]

5. China's anti-corruption campaign has increasingly focused on universities, with higher education identified as a target sector. Since 2012, at least eight centrally managed education officials have been publicly investigated. [para. 9]

6. Born in 1956 in Hunan, Zhang began work as a surveyor in 1976, studied at Xidian University, and earned master's and doctoral degrees from Tohoku University in Japan. He joined the Communist Party in 1987. [para. 10] He taught at Tsinghua University from 1990, becoming a professor and doctoral adviser, and led development of China's first network router in 1995. [para. 11][para. 12]

7. Zhang entered government in 1999 as deputy director of the education ministry's science and technology department, later heading its higher-education department and the State Council Academic Degrees Committee office, serving for 12 years until 2011. He also held concurrent roles including president of China Central Radio and Television University and a temporary post in the Beijing Olympic organizing committee. [para. 13][para. 14][para. 15]

8. In October 2011, Zhang became president of Central South University. In 2013, he criticized Chinese university research for impatience and academic misconduct, urging focus on major demands and long-term basic research. [para. 16][para. 17] In 2015, his team won the State Natural Science Award for "transparent computing," which faced public scrutiny over its novelty and differences from cloud computing. [para. 18][para. 19][para. 20]

9. Zhang defended his work, saying he extended rather than overturned the von Neumann architecture, and accepted limitations in his knowledge. He was named internet figure of the year in 2014, chaired the Hunan provincial science and technology association in 2016, and stepped down as president in 2017. [para. 21][para. 22] He also held various advisory roles for state committees and the People's Liberation Army. [para. 24]