Li Zhen, the first secretary of Hebei Province, was sentenced to death for embezzlement, and Cheng Weigao, secretary of the provincial party committee, was expelled from the party

His life was peculiar, and he claimed to be a descendant of the Tang Taizong family and Li Lianying, the "first secret" of the Qing Dynasty. His growth and rocket-like ascension spanned the entire era of reform and opening up in China, which is a legend in itself. The family he was born into is legendary, his upbringing is legendary, his love marriage is legendary, his political behavior is also quite legendary, and the inside story of his life and his miraculous ascension are even more mysterious. His political prowess is evident in the interweaving of power, money and charm.

Li Zhen, the former director of the Hebei Provincial State Taxation Bureau, who called himself the "First Secretary of Hebei", is a legendary figure, who was promoted from an ordinary employee to a department-level cadre in 5 years, and at the age of 33, he embarked on a leadership position at the level of the main department, and was also listed as a reserve leading cadre of the State Administration of Taxation and the People's Government of Hebei Province.

However, this dazzling "rising star" in contemporary politics relies on his special background to collect money and wealth, and the amount is particularly huge; In 2000, Li Zhen was "shuanggui" and became a major case in the new millennium and across the century; On August 30, 2002, the Tangshan Intermediate People's Court sentenced Li Zhen to death for bribery and embezzlement in the first instance, depriving him of his political rights for life.

When the news of Li Zhen's death sentence reached Shijiazhuang, Cheng Weigao, former chairman of the Standing Committee of the Hebei Provincial People's Congress, was so upset that his face was paralyzed, unconscious, and extremely sad. Because of li zhen's involvement, on August 9, 2003, with the approval of the CPC Central Committee, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection examined the serious violations of discipline by Cheng Weigao, the former secretary of Hebei Province, and decided to give him the punishment of expulsion from the party and revoke his treatment at the provincial level. Three consecutive demotions to the deputy department level.

Cheng Weigao's son Cheng Muyang is wanted and has fled to Canada, Cheng's wife and daughter have been detained, and one of their daughters has been tried in the Qiaodong District Court of Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, on suspicion of economic crimes.

On the morning of November 13, 2003, Li Zhen was executed. It is reported that this is the highest-ranking official to carry out the death penalty in Hebei Province since the reform and opening up.

Opportunity: A gathering to revise historiography

In 1986, Huai'an County in Zhangjiakou District graciously invited celebrities from all walks of life, who had worked in the Zhangjiakou battle in history, to return to Zhangjiakou to revisit their hometown and begin the activities of repairing the city history and publishing the party history. Li Zhen, an ordinary cadre working at the Zhangjiakou City Planning and Economic Commission, finally found an opportunity in it.

During the Zhangjiakou Liberation Campaign, an old leader once led his troops to fight in this deep mountain hot land. Li Zhen's father, as a subordinate of the old leader, had shared life and death with him and formed a deep friendship. Because of the friendship between Father Li and his former comrades-in-arms and colleagues, in the welcoming team, Li Zhen shrewdly and quickly impressed the old leader.

Before his death, Li Zhen's father entrusted Li Zhen to the old leader, and Li Zhen became his adopted son. Judging from the later results, this layer of relationship has helped Li Zhen's promotion considerably, but the old leader's Zhangjiakou trip is too short to retain the power background space that Li Zhen needs for a long time.

Li Zhen saw that his father's old comrades-in-arms were highly respected in the municipal party committee and municipal government, so he moved his back to the big tree to cool off. Relying on his father's relationship, with the old leader of this towering tree as the backstage, Li Zhen, who works in the Municipal Planning and Economic Commission, has gradually undergone a change in his tone of voice and his attitude toward the world, and his style of work has aroused the dissatisfaction of colleagues and the disgust of the leaders. The tension in his relationships made it impossible for him to continue working at the Planning and Economic Commission. People believe that Li Zhen is a villain and has a big shelf, which is also true when he later worked in the provincial party committee. Li Zhen also believes that only leaving Zhangjiakou is hope.

At the age of 25, Li Zhen bid farewell to Zhangjiakou and stayed in Beijing for a long time. Li Zhen's explanation to his colleagues was: "Go to Beijing to do business." ”

He temporarily stayed in the Beijing office of a certain unit in Zhangjiakou District, No. 14 Fengshou Hutong, Dongcheng District, Beijing, and went to the Gaogan Ward of the 301 Hospital every morning to accompany the old leader Uncle to the hospital, and returned to the Hebei Provincial Office in Beijing in the afternoon to study. One day, Li Zhen finally told the old leader his bitter feelings: he wanted to change a better working environment.

The old leader arranged for him to go to the home of an old general to be a life secretary, and at first Li Zhen was full of mystery and curiosity about this job, but as time went on, he felt that this kind of life was boring. He was keenly aware that in the old general's home, although he had a superior living environment and living conditions, he would not have much development in his personal life, so he had the idea of leaving here.

This experience, though short-lived, played a crucial role in changing his destiny. During his time as a secretary in the old general's home, he became acquainted with many senior leading cadres of the party, government, and military circles, as well as their children and secretaries; although his position was low, he was modest and courteous, leaving a good impression on these peers and leaders, which laid a good foundation for his future development in the political circles of Beijing and Hebei.

Li Zhen found the old leader again and said, "I am not suitable for working in the old general's home, and I want to work with the Hebei Provincial Government."

Soon, Li Zhen was qualified to transfer from Zhangjiakou to Shijiazhuang, and the position initially determined was that of secretary of the provincial government office.

Launch: A 100-dollar cashmere sweater

After the mountains and rivers are restored, we will usher in the new world of willows and dark flowers.

Li Zhen came to Shijiazhuang and began his brilliant and short career. In the winter of 1990, Li Zhen was formally transferred from the Construction and Investment Company of the Hebei Provincial Planning Commission to the General Office of the Hebei Provincial Government, and he became a full-time secretary of a vice governor in charge of the economy. Li Zhen ascended from the grassroots level to the heavens to work in the provincial government office, and he was rejoicing, when he was just twenty-seven years old. However, at a meeting held in the province, he met Li Guoting, director of the Zhangjiakou Cigarette Factory, and Ji Ling, director of the Finance Department.

Li Zhen said: My ideal is to be a good secretary first, and then develop to the upper level in the future. But Li Guoting saw that Li Zhen envied the rich. And gave Li Zhen five thousand yuan.

When Li Zhen saw that he had given him so much money, he was stunned: this was the first time someone else had given him so much money, and five thousand yuan was equivalent to his salary for two and a half years! Li Zhen resolutely did not want it, he repeatedly pushed back, and finally did not stop. Director Li left the money and made an excuse to leave quickly. The next day, Li Zhen went with five thousand yuan to ask the leader he served, and the leader told him that he must return the money to others, and told him: It is not easy for people to run enterprises to make money, you can't just accept other people's money. Afterwards, Li Zhen returned the money to Director Li through others. This incident made Li Zhen think a lot...

At an economic work conference held in the province, each of the staff members presented a cashmere sweater souvenir of nearly 100 yuan, and Li Zhen accepted the souvenir with a nervous feeling, and afterwards he asked the people in the general office: Should I accept the cashmere sweater, and the person said: Everyone has a share, why don't you take it back? Li Zhen put on this cashmere sweater. Soon after, when a leader from Cangzhou City, Hebei Province, went to the province to report to the provincial leaders, he carried Li Zhen's superiors behind his back and gave him a Chinese cigarette and a set of razors, Li Zhen quietly accepted, when he sent things back to the dormitory to open the door, he could not open the dormitory door, and then took a closer look, he was scared to use the wrong key, took the bicycle key to open the dormitory door, of course, it could not be opened...

In this way, Li Zhen slowly became an out-and-out betrayer.

On the Road of No Return: Four nurses, one shot per person

On the morning of November 13, 2003, from 7:40 to 8:10, the court left Li Zhen half an hour to say goodbye to his mother, three brothers and sisters. Subsequently, Li Zhen was taken to the lethal death penalty vehicle. The use of lethal injection is more humane but more costly. The lethal injection execution car given to Li Zhen this time is the first one purchased by Hebei Province and cost about 800,000 yuan. Li Zhen was the third person in Hebei to enjoy this punishment.

At 8:17, the injection began. A citizen who was in charge of the health of the execution site said: The death penalty injection room is on a car at the execution site  the execution car is divided into an inner and outer room, the inner room is the execution room, the outer room is the observation room, when the death penalty is executed, there are four injections, one of which is venom, the other three injections are all glucose, each of the four nurses takes a needle to inject intravenously, the nurses do not know whether they are venom or glucose liquid, the nurses penetrate the vein and withdraw, the executioners in the observation room press the syringe power-on button, and push the liquid into the body of the death row prisoner. In just ten to thirty seconds, the death row inmate does not move, then takes a picture, packs the body into a plastic bag and transports it away. About 2 minutes later, after the forensic doctor made an error on the spot, he announced that Li Zhen's execution had been completed. At 8:30 a.m., the body was transported to the funeral home.

Chronology of Li Zhen's life trajectory

Li Zhen, whose ancestral home is Datong, Shanxi

Born on May 29, 1962 in Zhangjiakou City, to a family of cadres, his father was a cadre of the Zhangjiakou Special District Planning Commission at that time;

After failing the college entrance examination in September 1979, he left Zhangjiakou to study in the physics class of Chaigoubao Normal College;

In July 1981, he graduated from the teacher training and was assigned to a farm job as a teacher;

In 1983, he successively worked in Zhangjiakou Radio Factory, Electronics Institute and Municipal Planning and Economic Commission; For general employees and cadres;

In 1984, he went to the countryside to teach;

In 1986, he was transferred to the oil mill and worked as an ordinary worker;

Drifting in Beijing in 1988, he worked as a waiter in the State Organ Affairs Bureau and the life secretary of a retired chief;

In the spring of 1989, he went from Zhangjiakou to Shijiazhuang; Transferred to the Hebei Provincial Planning Commission Construction and Investment Company, as a general staff;

In 1990, he worked in the General Office of the Hebei Provincial Government and served as a secretary to a vice governor;

In July 1992, he was transferred to the governor's secretary;

In June 1993, he worked in the General Office of the Hebei Provincial Party Committee and served as the secretary of the Provincial Party Committee;

In 1994, he was appointed deputy director of the General Office of the Hebei Provincial Party Committee;

In 1995, he was appointed deputy secretary of the party group and deputy director of the State Taxation Bureau of Hebei Province;

In 1997, he was appointed as the director of the State Taxation Bureau of Hebei Province and the deputy secretary of the party group;

In early 1998, he was appointed Secretary of the Party Group and Director of the State Taxation Bureau of Hebei Province;

Graduated from graduate school in July 1998 with a master's degree;

In December 1998, "Learning and Thinking Practice- Li Zhen's Tax Papers" was published, with a circulation of 10,000 copies;

On March 1, 2000, it was "shuanggui";

Arrested in accordance with the law on 30 March 2000;

On April 4, 2000, the State Administration of Taxation dismissed Li Zhen from the posts of secretary and director of the State Taxation Bureau of Hebei Province;

In September 2001, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection expelled him from the Party and the State Administration of Taxation dismissed him from public office;

On June 21, 2002, Li Zhen's bribery and embezzlement case was tried;

On August 30, 2002, Li Zhen was sentenced to death in the first instance and deprived of his political rights for life;

On August 9, 2003, due to his involvement in Li Zhen's case and with the approval of the Cpc Central Committee, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection examined Cheng Weigao, former director of the Standing Committee of the Hebei Provincial People's Congress, for serious violations of discipline, and decided to give him the punishment of expulsion from the Party, revoke his treatment at the provincial level, and demote him to the level of deputy department head;

On October 9, 2003, the Hebei Provincial High Court rejected Li Zhen's appeal and upheld the death sentence imposed on him in the first instance.

On the morning of November 13, 2003, Li Zhen was executed by lethal injection in Tangshan.

Xinbao reporter Hu Jinhua compiled it from "The First Secretary of Hebei - Li Zhensheng's Decline and Fall", xiuling," published by Guangming Daily Publishing House in January 2004

About author:Xiu Ling, graduated from Beijing Broadcasting Institute. He is Li Zhen's classmate, fellow countryman and colleague, deeply aware of Li Zhen's experience and life in the world, and has completed this 230,000-word work in 5 years, with exclusive insider materials, with meticulous brushstrokes how Li Zhen went from a good child and good student from a civilian family, experienced the turbulence of the science field, love field, and official field, to greed expansion, folding sand, and finally to extinction.