On March 18th, according to the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of China, the case of Tang Zuoguo, former deputy secretary and vice chairman of the CPPCC (National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference) of Changde City, Hunan Province (deputy department level), suspected of bribery and abuse of power, has been investigated and concluded by the Hunan Provincial Supervisory Committee and transferred to the procuratorial organs for review and prosecution. Recently, the Hunan Provincial People’s Procuratorate made a decision to arrest Tang Zuoguo on suspicion of bribery. The case is under further investigation.
Public information shows that Tang Zuoguo, male, born in July 1964, Han nationality, started working in July 1985, joined the Communist Party of China in December 1989, native of Lixian County, Hunan Province, and correspondence undergraduate.
Tang Zuoguo once served as deputy director of the Propaganda Department of Changde Municipal Party Committee, deputy director and director of the Development and Reform Commission of Changde City, secretary of the Taoyuan County Party Committee since July 2016, deputy mayor of Changde City, and secretary of the Taoyuan County Party Committee since January 2017. In December 2017, he resigned as secretary of the Taoyuan County Party Committee and later served as deputy chairman of the CPPCC of Changde City.
On September 20, 2023, the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission announced that Tang Zuoguo, deputy secretary and vice chairman of the CPPCC of Changde City, Hunan Province, was suspected of serious disciplinary and legal violations and is currently undergoing disciplinary review and supervision investigation by the Discipline Inspection Commission and Supervisory Commission of Hunan Province.
It is worth mentioning that on September 15, 2023, Tang Zuoguo also attended a public event. In addition, on the morning of September 11, the “Mirror and Discipline to Promote Reform” themed study and discussion meeting of the party group of the CPPCC of Changde City was held, where Tang Zuoguo delivered a speech and made arrangements for relevant work.
Playing gambling with private entrepreneurs for a long time
On January 28, 2024, the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission announced that Tang Zuoguo, former deputy secretary and vice chairman of the CPPCC of Changde City, Hunan Province, was expelled from the party and dismissed from public office for serious disciplinary and legal violations.
The announcement stated that Tang Zuoguo, as a party member and leading cadre, lost his ideals and beliefs, betrayed his original aspirations and missions, distorted his view of power, misplaced his view of political achievements, and had long been in close contact with private entrepreneurs, using public power for personal gain, engaging in ‘ants moving house’ style corruption. He was not resolute in implementing the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, discounted and circumvented the rules, illegally raised debt for project construction, was disloyal and dishonest to the Party, deliberately resisted organizational investigation, did not believe in Marxism-Leninism but in ghosts and gods, engaged in feudal superstition activities on a large scale; ignored the spirit of the Party’s eight-point regulations, illegally accepted gifts; lacked organizational principles, did not truthfully explain issues during organizational talks; was not honest in office, used vehicles of management service targets; pursued low-level pleasures, and played gambling with private entrepreneurs for a long time. He used his position for the benefit of others, illegally accepted money and property, with an especially large amount; abused power, causing significant losses to public property, national interests, and the people.
Having a “Fine Baijiu Exhibition Hall” at home
On the evening of February 1, 2024, the TV documentary “Loyalty and Betrayal – 2023 Hunan Anti-corruption Warning Record”, jointly produced by the Discipline Inspection Commission and Supervisory Commission of Hunan Province and Hunan Radio and Television Station, continued to be broadcast on Hunan Satellite TV.
In the second episode of the documentary, the relevant case of Tang Zuoguo, former deputy secretary and vice chairman of the CPPCC of Changde City, who was “indulging in excessive drinking,” was revealed.
The documentary revealed that there was a room in Tang Zuoguo’s house specifically for storing alcohol, becoming a true “Fine Wine Exhibition Hall”. When the investigators searched, there were enough high-end wines to fill three trucks. Tang Zuoguo indulged in excessive drinking, frequently attending various drinking gatherings, where toasts turned into exchanges of interests, eventually leading to corruption and moral decay, step by step descending into the abyss of crime.
“They all knew I liked to drink, so they sent me a lot of alcohol,” Tang Zuoguo confessed in the documentary. “Starting from these small details, it led from indulgence to corruption.”