State media reports of Ling Jihua’s trial do not mention the faction he was thought to head
In the biggest case of its kind this year, Ling Jihua, the one-time high-flying aide to former president Hu Jintao, was exposed as part of a corrupt web of businessmen and politicians reaching across the nation’s north, east and southeast.
Yet there was no mention of the web extending into coal-rich Shanxi, where Ling spent the first 23 years of his life.
Ling, 59, was sentenced to life in prison for taking more than 77 million yuan (HK$89 million) in bribes, illegally obtaining state secrets and abuse of power, state media reported on Monday.
In the secret trial heard on June 7 in the Tianjin No 1 Intermediate People’s Court, Ling was accused of taking bribes from businessmen and officials from Sichuan, Yunnan , Zhejiang, Beijing and Inner Mongolia.
But state media reports made no mention of the “Shanxi Gang”, of which Ling was believed to have been the leader.
State media have accused Ling of “forming a separate political faction” referred to as the “Shanxi Gang”.
The gang reportedly includes cadres in or originally from the province, according to unconfirmed reports.
