Top news reporter Gao Xin
Interfering with trademark review matters in violation of regulations, probing and divulging trademark review and adjudication information that has not yet been disclosed, and seeking benefits for others in trademark review and adjudication...... This was pointed out on the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission in a report on Wu Xinkuang's investigation and punishment.
The top news reporter recently learned that Wu Xinkuang, the former director of the Anti-Unfair Competition Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation, was involved in the identification and opposition of "well-known trademarks", and collected more than 400 yuan in ten years. He also has more than 10 million assets "and cannot explain the source". Therefore, the court sentenced Wu Xinkuang to 12 years in prison for the crime of accepting bribes and the crime of having a huge amount of property from unknown sources. After the verdict was pronounced, Wu did not appeal.
Professor Peng Xinlin, an expert in anti-corruption research, pointed out that the phenomenon of corruption such as "asking for intercession" between colleagues exposed by Wu Xinkuang's case is very harmful, and it is not only easy for "colleagues" to become "co-corrupters," but also destroys the political ecology of units and departments.
The year of confusion was investigated and punished
According to public information, Wu Xinkuang is a native of Anhui. In 2003, after graduating from university, he joined the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. In 6 years, he went from an ordinary cadre in the Department of Laws and Regulations to a deputy chief clerk.
In May 2009, Wu Xinkuang was transferred to the General Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and later served as the chief staff member of the first secretary, the secretary of the main section of the secretariat, and the deputy secretary of the department. In November 2015, he was transferred to the Anti-Monopoly and Anti-Unfair Competition Enforcement Bureau as the Deputy Director of the Anti-Unfair Competition Division.
In 2018, after the institutional reform of the State Council, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and other departments were no longer retained, and the State Administration for Market Regulation was newly established as an agency directly under the State Council.
Since August 2018, Wu Xinkuang has worked in the Price Supervision and Inspection and Anti-Unfair Competition Bureau of the State Administration for Market Regulation. During this period, he was promoted from Deputy Director to Chief of the Division. Until July 2022, he was announced to be removed from office.
It is reported that a month before he was dismissed, Wu Xinkuang had been placed in custody on suspicion of job-related crimes. At that time, he was about to celebrate his 40th birthday.
Five months later, the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Group of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission in the State Administration for Market Regulation, and the Beijing Huairou District Supervision Commission reported the results of the disciplinary review and supervision investigation of Wu Xinkuang's suspected serious violations of discipline and law.
The circular mentioned that Wu Xinkuang violated the spirit of the eight regulations of the central government by repeatedly accepting gifts and cash gifts that might affect the fair performance of official duties, accepting banquets from management and service recipients, and using the special car of leading cadres in violation of regulations on many occasions;
Violating organizational discipline, failing to report personal matters in accordance with regulations, and not truthfully explaining problems when organizing conversations; Violating integrity and discipline, borrowing vehicles from management and service targets for a long time, and reselling Moutai liquor for profit-making activities in violation of regulations;
Violating work discipline, interfering in trademark review matters in violation of regulations, probing and leaking undisclosed trademark review information, and playing golf during working hours many times; Taking advantage of the convenience formed by one's own authority or position, through the conduct of other state functionaries in their positions, to seek benefits for others in trademark review, enterprise name approval, etc., and illegally accept huge amounts of property from others; Property and expenditure clearly exceed legal income, the difference is huge, and the source cannot be explained.
According to the above-mentioned circular, Wu Xinkuang seriously violated the party's discipline, constituted a violation of public office and was suspected of taking bribes, and the crime of unclear sources of huge amounts of property, and did not restrain or stop after the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and even after the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, it was serious in nature and had a bad impact, and should be seriously dealt with.
After Wu Xinkuang was "double-opened," the supervision organs transferred the issue of his suspected crime to the procuratorate for review and prosecution in accordance with law.
In December 2022, Wu Xinkuang was arrested on suspicion of taking bribes and the crime of unclear sources of huge assets. After that, the prosecutor prosecuted Wu Xinkuang for the crime of accepting bribes and the crime of unknown sources of huge amounts of wealth.
Recognized as a "well-known trademark".
It is reported that Wu Xinkuang's alleged bribery mainly stems from his involvement in the identification of "well-known trademarks", trademark review and other matters, and involves a number of well-known brands.
Mr. Li is an intellectual property management consultant. In 2010, he became acquainted with Wu Xinkuang and learned that Wu served as the secretary of the deputy director of the State Administration for Market Regulation in charge of the trademark field. From 2011 to 2019, Mr. Li asked Wu Xinkuang to coordinate the relationship and take care of the trademark business such as the identification of a number of "well-known trademarks" and the opposition to trademark registration.
A colleague of Wu Xinkuang admitted that he was responsible for the examination and issuance of trademark matters. Wu had consulted him on the identification of the "well-known trademark" of the relevant brand represented by Li, and asked him to pay attention to the case, and he agreed to help out of personal relationship.
Between 2012 and 2021, Zhang, a senior partner of a law firm in Beijing, asked Wu Xinkuang to coordinate the relationship and take care of him in a number of cases involving the recognition of well-known trademarks and opposition evaluation.
Kong, who works as a consulting company in Anhui, met Wu Xinkuang at a dinner in 2016. In the following two or three years, he asked Wu to help coordinate the recognition of "well-known trademarks" represented by the company, so that the two trademarks were successfully recognized as well-known trademarks.
……
The top news reporter learned that the brands involved in the case cover clothing, food, home appliances, games, car companies and other industries. After the completion of those trademark businesses, the trustees also expressed their "hearts" to Wu Xinkuang one after another, offering hundreds of thousands to millions of yuan in "benefit fees".
In addition to bribes from outsiders, Wu Xinkuang also accepted bribes from colleagues. He took advantage of his authority or position to provide assistance to Zhang, the former deputy director of the Second Price Supervision Division of the Bureau, in trademark review and enterprise name pre-approval and other business requested by Zhang, the former deputy director of the Second Price Supervision Division of the Bureau, through the conduct of other state functionaries in their duties, and accepted benefits from Zhang on several occasions.
According to the prosecution's allegations, Wu Xinkuang accepted bribes amounting to more than 400 yuan. In addition, from 2003 to the occurrence of the case, Wu Xinkuang's actual personal holdings of property and expenditures, in addition to deducting the legal income and illegal income from the verified sources, there are still more than 1,000 yuan that cannot be explained.
After hearing the case, the court held that Wu Xinkuang, as a state functionary, took advantage of his position to seek improper benefits for others and illegally accepted other people's property through the conduct of other state functionaries in his position, and the amount was particularly huge; Wu Xinkuang's assets and expenditures clearly exceeded his lawful income, and the difference in which he could not explain the source was particularly huge, and his conduct constituted the crime of accepting bribes and the crime of unclear sources of huge amounts of property, and should be punished in accordance with law, and punished concurrently for several crimes.
In the end, in view of his exposure and meritorious service after arriving at the case, the court pleaded guilty and accepted punishment in court, and his family returned the stolen money on his behalf, and sentenced Wu Xinkuang to 12 years in prison and a fine of 500,000 yuan for the crime of accepting bribes and the crime of having a huge amount of property from unknown sources.
The "invisible power" of the secretary's identity
On June 20, 2023, when the court heard Wu Xinkuang's case, the Discipline Inspection Commission of the National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment organized 19 people to attend the trial. Most of these people are high-risk personnel and young cadres in power departments.
According to the relevant "work dynamics" released on the official website of the National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, in order to guide the center's key work personnel and young cadres to further know and respect, guard against fear, and abide by the bottom line in their thoughts and actions, the center's discipline inspection committee organized the warning education activity of observing the trial of the court trial of duty crimes.
They are also young cadres, they are also holding power, and they are also in the "rising period" of their posts...... This warning education is very delicately arranged. Some observers gave feedback afterwards and truly felt the painful lesson of violating discipline and law, which brought a huge spiritual shock.
So, why is Wu Xinkuang's case shocking? Top news reporters noticed that Wu Xinkuang mainly "took advantage of the convenient conditions formed by his own authority or position to intervene in relevant trademark identification, opposition, and other matters through the behavior of other state functionaries in his position," so as to complete the bribe-giver's request.
A colleague of Wu Xinkuang described that he had worked for the TRAB and was responsible for issuing and approving relevant trademark cases. Wu Xinkuang once inquired about a trademark invalidation case from him and asked him to pay attention to this case. He and Wu have always had a good relationship, and out of friendship, he agreed to help.
Peng Xinlin, an anti-corruption research expert and professor at the Law School of Beijing Normal University, said in an interview with top news reporters that in the practice of anti-corruption, the phenomenon of colleagues "asking for intercession," inquiring about the facts of cases, or interfering in the handling of cases is particularly prominent in some areas and units.
"Some are hindered by personal exchanges, some are unable to resist the temptation of money or interests, and some are exchanging with each other and 'embracing corruption'. Peng Xinlin said that this form of corruption is very harmful, not only easy to make "colleagues" into "co-corruption" and easy to form a corrupt "alliance" for the transfer of interests, but also to destroy the political ecology of units and departments.
"The essence of this is to transfer the principle of commodity exchange to the political life of the party, the rules of the system are replaced by the principle of commodity exchange, and the normal comrade relations within the party are eroded by sectarianism, circle culture, and dock culture. ”
Another detail of Wu's case has also caught the attention of Professor Peng Xinlin, who has worked as a leading secretary for many years, which may have opened the door for him to find colleagues to help.
A deputy director of the Trademark Office testified that in 2012, Wu Xinkuang asked him about the recognition of a well-known trademark and asked about the progress of the trademark. Considering that Wu Xinkuang's status at that time was special, he was the secretary of the General Administration in charge of trademark business, so he truthfully told Wu about the trademark situation.
"The secretary is the person who is close to the leading cadre, and his status is not high and he has great power. Peng Xinlin analyzed that these people will share and defer the power of leading cadres, so as to have a kind of hidden power. The higher the rank of the leading cadre, the greater the energy and space for the activities of the secretary. Therefore, he suggested that the work should be further strengthened in the selection, appointment, supervision and restraint of secretaries.
