Chinese Ship Building Company ex-Senior Official Arrested

Chinese Ship Building Company ex-Senior Official Arrested
China's first domestically manufactured aircraft carrier, known only as "Type 001A," leaves port in the northeast city of Dalian early on May 13, 2018. (AFP/Getty Images)
Daniel Holl
1/10/2019
Updated:
1/10/2019
The deputy head of of the state-owned China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) has been arrested. Sun Bo was expelled from his position in December 2018 for accepting bribes and abusing power.

The highest procuratorate of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) announced his arrest on Jan. 7. He may be facing the death penalty for alleged spying and sharing secrets about the Liaoning, China’s aircraft carrier, according to the South China Morning Post. How much and what he shared is still not clear.

Bo is accused of falsifying, concealing the facts, engaging in feudal superstition activities, using his position to facilitate the benefit of his family members and friends, and receiving property.

He worked at the Dalian Shipbuilding Industry, and later moved to a CSIC Party leadership position in 2009.

Founded in 1999, the CSIC is a large state-owned company under the control of the CCP State Council. It is one of the 10 major military construction groups in China. It is responsible for building China’s first homegrown aircraft carrier, the Type 001A.

The CSIC has 46 industrial firms and 28 scientific research institutions. It employs 140,000 individuals, with assets worth 190 billion yuan ($27.7 billion).

Investigation of high-level individuals in the CSIC began in 2018. Bo was first suspected of legal violations in June. In September, Sun Luoma, former director of the 712 Institute of CSIC, was under investigation. Former deputy director of the 704 Institute of CSIC, Jin Hao, was also under investigation.

Daniel Holl is a Sacramento, California-based reporter, specializing in China-related topics. He moved to China alone and stayed there for almost seven years, learning the language and culture. He is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.
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