China hands suspended death sentence to ex-chief of state chip giant
Beijing:
China
on Wednesday handed a suspended death sentence to the former head of a major state-owned maker of high-end semiconductors, state media reported.
Zhao Weiguo
, the former chairman of semiconductor titan
Tsinghua Unigroup
, came under official investigation in 2022 and was formally accused of graft the following year.
China has sought to increase its self-reliance in the field of semiconductors, which are used in everything from televisions to weapons and supercomputers, particularly as they have become a focus of trade tensions between Beijing and countries like the United States.
Tsinghua Unigroup rose to become one of the country's leading chipmakers after a string of acquisitions, but accumulated huge debts under Zhao's chairmanship.
It defaulted on several bond payments in 2020, sparking a painful restructuring and a change in ownership.
On Wednesday, a court in northeastern China found Zhao guilty of massive embezzlement, illegal profiteering and intentionally harming the interests of a listed company, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
He was given a death sentence with a two-year suspension, deprived of political rights for life and ordered to forfeit his personal assets.
In China, death sentences for corruption-related crimes are often reduced to life imprisonment on appeal.
He was also fined 12 million yuan ($1.65 million).
Zhao, who is in his late 50s, graduated from Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University and started working in 1993 at Tsinghua Unigroup, which has historic ties to the school, according to an official Chinese biography.
He rose through the ranks and served as the company's chairman from 2009 until the time of his investigation.
The court found that Zhao and an accomplice had used his position to buy property that should have been owned by the company at cut-rate prices, illegally occupying state-owned assets worth 470 million yuan, CCTV reported.
He also cost the state over 890 million yuan when he bought services from his accomplice's company at a rate much higher than the market value, it said.
"(Zhao) embezzled a particularly huge sum of money and caused particularly serious losses to national interests, and should be sentenced to death," the court concluded.
But "the execution will not be immediately carried out" because he cooperated with prosecutors and returned his ill-gotten gains, it said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has waged an unrelenting crackdown on official corruption since coming to power over a decade ago.
Proponents say the policy promotes clean governance, but others say it also serves as a means for Xi to purge political rivals.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
US Seeking 'Handshake' On Rare Earths From China, White House Aide Says
Washington: The three top U.S. trade negotiators are seeking a handshake with China in London talks to seal the agreement on rare earths reached by Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Monday. "The purpose of the meeting today is to make sure that they're serious, but to literally get handshakes," Mr Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, told CNBC in an interview. "I expect it to be a short meeting with a big, strong handshake," Mr Hassett added. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were set to meet with Chinese counterparts in London on Monday to defuse the trade dispute between the two superpowers that has widened in recent weeks to include export controls over goods critical to global supply chains. Chinese export controls on rare earths was a very significant sticking point, Mr Hassett said. With China controlling most of the global rare earth and magnet supply, its restrictions on sending those to the U.S. could disrupt production for American companies, including automakers, that rely on those materials, he said. Asked about the Chinese objection to U.S. curbs on semiconductor exports, Hassett said: "Our expectation is that after the handshake, then immediately after the handshake, any export controls from the U.S. will be eased, and the rare earths will be released in volume, and then we can go back to negotiating smaller matters."
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Delhi, Beijing ties eased, India-China-Russia troika could resume: Russia Minister
The stalled work of the Russia-India-China (RIC) troika could be restarted as the tension between New Delhi and Beijing has eased 'significantly', Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on at the 'Forum of the Future-2050' here, the Russian foreign minister also said the resumption of joint work in RIC format could be the first step towards pan-Eurasian processes, including the formation of a multi-polar really hope that we will be able to restore the work of the Russia-India-China trio. We have not met at the level of foreign ministers for the last couple of years, but we are discussing this issue with my Chinese colleague and with the Indian head of the External Affairs department,' Lavrov was quoted as saying by Russia's state-run TASS news agency. 'I really hope that now that the tension has eased, in my opinion, has eased significantly on the border between India and China, and the situation is stabilising, there is a dialogue between New Delhi and Beijing, we will be able to resume the work of this Russia-India-China trio," he the deadly Galwan Valley standoff between the militaries of India and China in 2020, the RIC troika has not been very said that Russia and China can and should play a leading and proactive role in the pan-continental process, including in the formation of a multi-polar architecture, and added that the restoration of the RIC format could act as the first step towards this.'This will also be a very important step forward in the movement of continental processes,' he two-day forum inspired by Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin, often dubbed as President Vladimir Putin's 'guru', has attracted young and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's father Erol Musk is also attending the forum.
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
Unique Wedding Gift: Vietnamese Bride Gets 100 Civet Cats Worth Rs 60 Lakh
A bride in Vietnam received an extraordinary dowry from her parents--100 civet cats valued at approximately $70,000. Notably, these animals are prized for their role in producing Kopi Luwak, one of the world's most expensive coffees. The dowry also included substantial assets, such as 25 gold bars, $20,000 cash, company shares worth 300 million dong, and multiple high-value properties, as per the South China Morning Post. The 22-year-old bride from southwestern Vietnam received the lavish gifts upon her marriage last May. The groom's family reciprocated with a bride price consisting of 10 taels of gold, 200 million dong in cash, and diamond jewellery. In many Asian cultures, dowries are a significant tradition, representing family wealth and parental commitment to supporting their daughter's new life. The bride's father, Hong Chi Tam, explained that his children, all university graduates, have taken over the family business. He gifted his daughter assets that could generate income, giving her the freedom to decide whether to raise the civet cats or sell them, and promising to support her choice. "My daughter is a business school graduate. She is fully capable of managing these assets. No matter the method, it ensures her financial independence," Mr Chi Tam said. About Civet Cats In Vietnam, civet cats are highly valued. A female civet that has given birth can be worth around $700, while a pregnant one can fetch up to $1,050. Their value stems partly from their role in producing Kopi Luwak, one of the world's most expensive coffees. The unique production process involves the animals consuming ripe coffee cherries, and the beans are then collected from their digestive system, cleaned, processed, and roasted. Additionally, civet meat is considered a luxury food in China and Vietnam and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine, further contributing to the animal's value. According to World Animal Protection International, the civet cat trade often involves cruel practices. Wild civets are captured using harmful methods like box traps and snares, then sold to farms where they're kept in tiny cages and subjected to poor living conditions, inadequate food, and stress.
