Chongqing's Ten Pin Blow-Down

A high-level judge originally sent to Chongqing over ten years ago as part of an elite group of law students, Zhang Tao, entered the Intermediate Court of Guizhou Province's Zunyi City on July 30 to stand trial on charges of bribes totaling more than 9 million yuan. Years of bribery that had gone completely undetected became undone by a single injudicious exercise of discretion.

Zhang, formerly a second circuit judge faces two charges: one for the solicitation and acceptance of bribes and another for allowing illegal gang activity in the form of gambling, buying shares and offering loans at gang-run casinos.

Receiving End

In 2009, CCTV's "News Investigation" program ran a report on unsettled land auctions, which pulled back the curtain on an administrative process rife with backstage collusion, commercial bribes and even illegal arrests. Chen Kunzhi, the legal representative of Wanguan Company, one of the targets of the investigation, was arrested.
Chen received the death penalty on 23 counts of organized crime and murder from 2001 to 2009. Three years before, one man stood in the way of keeping Chen's land auctions under the radar: the Deputy Chief of the Chongqing High Court, Zhang Tao. Chen had given Zhang US$ 50,000, in name of consultation fees in exchange for covering up an illegal land auction. After Chen's case was brought before the courts, Zhang rejected the decision to stop the land auction in question.

When CCTV's program aired, a high-ranking official in Chongqing recognized Zhang in the piece and he was detained by the party disciplinary department.

Settling In

The 47-year-old Zhang was born in Liaoning Province. A graduate of Jilin University's law school, he received his master's degree from Renmin University and a doctorate from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
In 1997, when Chongqing became a municipality, the Chongqing Municipal Committee, Communist Youth League and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences jointly decided to send a "Doctoral Students Service Group" to Chongqing in order to fill a talent gap in the region. Zhang, who was studying constitutional and administrative law, was selected for the group.

At the age of 34, Zhang's career in the Chinese judicial system began. For him, going to Chongqing was a fortunate career-breaking opportunity. After he finished his term, he decided to stay in Chongqing, where he became the deputy chief of Chongqing First Intermediate Court. His colleagues in the service group recall Zhang to be "honest, fair and promising."

In July of 2002, Zhang was transferred to a deputy chief post at Chongqing High Court. He was in charge of the execution division, supervision division and research department. Upon assuming this position, rumors of him reached Beijing. "I heard that he had quite a lot of money. When he gambled, he would win or lose hundreds of thousands yuan, or even millions of yuan. Back in school, I didn't know he had such hobby," One of Zhang's former classmates told Caixin. The indictment states that beginning in 2005, Zhang gambled, invested in and provided high-interest loans at a well-known nightclub in Chongqing. The boss of the club, Yue Ning has been involved in Chongqing's high-end entertainment industry for years. In May of this year, Yue was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for his involvement with the gang.

Kindling Wood

Zhang was removed from his position. And many more involved in Zhang's case gradually emerged along with his dismissal. On July 25, 2009, the Chongqing Municipal People's Congress decided to relieve 10 judges of their posts.
Among them was former trial committee member of the Chongqing High Court, Wu Xiaoqing. On November 28, 2009, he was found dead at the Chongqing House of Detention, which was described as a suicide by authorities. 
From 1998 to 2008, Wu solicited and accepted bribes worth of 3.57 million yuan and HK$ 100,000 in total. Wu also had 5.18 million yuan from unknown sources.

A judge at a local court said that Zhang had been a central figure in the network of corrupt deals for years. As Zhang ascended the ranks, he was assimilated into the culture of kickbacks so common within the Chinese judicial system.

(Translated by PLW)