Zhang Shuguang
Zhang Shuguang (张曙光), former director of the Transport Bureau for the Ministry of Railways as well as its deputy chief engineer, stood trial in Beijing on September 10, 2013. He was charged with accepting more than 47 million yuan (US$7.68 million) in bribes.
Born in December 1956, in Liyang of Jiangsu Province, Zhang graduated from the Lanzhou Jiaotong University in 1982, majoring in vehicle engineering. He was a member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and held the professional rank of senior engineer.
Zhang had successively held posts in the railways bureaus of Shanghai, Shenyang and Beijing, Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway Co. Ltd. and the Transport Bureau for the Ministry of Railways. His most recent important posts were those of former director of the Transport Bureau with the Ministry of Railways as well as its deputy chief engineer.
Zhang also acted as part-time professor with the Zhejiang University, Beijing Jiaotong University and Southwest Jiaotong University. As a leading expert in railway technology, Zhang enjoyed an allowance especially provided by the State Council.
Zhang had long been engaged in applied basic theory and engineering technology research on high-speed railways and trains, and he had published many academic monographs in this field. He had been in charge of a series of China's major large-scale projects, including high-speed trains, passenger trains for the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, high-power AC-driven electric and diesel locomotives, and passenger transport special line integration.
On February 28, 2011, the Ministry of Railways announced that Zhang had been suspended from his duties as director of the Transport Bureau for Ministry of Railways and its deputy chief engineer.
On September 3, 2013, Zhang was prosecuted on suspicion of accepting bribes by the No. 2 Branch of the Beijing Municipal Procuratorate; the case was accepted by the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court.
On September 10, 2013, Zhang stood trial at the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court. He was accused of accepting more than 47 million yuan (US$7.68 million) in bribes from 14 companies between 2000 and 2011, when holding various ministry positions. He helped the companies obtain contracts relating to the sales of trains or train parts, provided them with technical supplies and helped them in the bidding for projects. Zhang confessed to taking bribes at the trial. The court's ruling will be announced at a later date.
Zhang is the second high-ranking railways official to be charged with bribery in China, after former railways minister Liu Zhijun was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for bribery and abuse of power, deprivation of his political rights for life and the confiscation of all his personal property in July 2013.
