Former Politburo member Ma Xingrui indicted on bribery charges

Ma Xingrui, former member of the CPC Politburo and former Party Secretary of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has been indicted on charges of accepting bribes.

According to a CCTV News report on Thursday (November 5), the Supreme People's Procuratorate announced that after the National Supervisory Commission concluded its investigation into Ma Xingrui's suspected bribery case, it transferred the case to the procuratorial authorities for review and prosecution.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate, in accordance with the law, decided to arrest Ma Xingrui on suspicion of accepting bribes and designated the Yichang Municipal People's Procuratorate to review and prosecute the case.

The Yichang Municipal People's Procuratorate has filed a public prosecution with the Yichang Intermediate People's Court.

The procuratorial authorities allege that Ma Xingrui took advantage of his positions as a member of the Party Leadership Group, vice general manager, Party secretary and general manager of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation; deputy Party secretary of Guangdong Province and Party secretary of Shenzhen; deputy Party secretary and governor of Guangdong Province; and member of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau, or exploited the conveniences created by his authority and position, to seek benefits for others and illegally accepted property from others in extremely large amounts, and should be held criminally responsible for accepting bribes in accordance with the law.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate said that during the review and prosecution stage, the procuratorial authorities informed Ma Xingrui of his litigation rights in accordance with the law, interrogated the defendant, and heard the opinions of his defense counsel.

Ma Xingrui, 67, rose through the ranks as a technocrat, once served as deputy chief commander of China's manned space program, and was known as the "young space commander." In March 2013, Ma Xingrui left the defense industry to become a ministry official.

In November of the same year, he was transferred to Guangdong, where he successively served as deputy Party secretary of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee, Party secretary of Shenzhen, and governor of Guangdong Province.

In December 2021, Ma Xingrui was promoted to Party secretary of Xinjiang, and in October of the following year he joined the CPC Politburo, with his political career once widely seen as promising.

After stepping down as Xinjiang Party secretary in July last year, Ma Xingrui rarely appeared in public.

In April this year, officials announced that Ma Xingrui was under investigation on suspicion of serious violations of discipline and law.

Two months later, his qualification as a deputy to the National People's Congress was terminated.

In July this year, Chinese authorities announced that Ma Xingrui had been "expelled from both the Party and public office" (dismissed from the CPC and removed from public office).

The official announcement said he had been indulgent and negligent in supervising and managing those around him, engaged in power-sex and money-sex transactions, and was deeply involved in family corruption, and that the nature was extremely serious and the impact extremely vile.