Liu Shaoyong sentenced to 14 years for bribery

A Chinese court in Shenyang has sentenced former China Eastern Airlines chairman Liu Shaoyong to 14 years in prison for bribery. The ruling follows an investigation into a scheme that spanned two decades, from 2002 to 2023.

Judges found that Liu accepted over 67.5 million yuan (approximately 10.1 million US dollars) in kickbacks from commercial contractors. In exchange for these illicit payments, Liu used his leadership positions at China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, and various civil aviation regulatory offices to provide corporate assistance, project allocations, and staff promotions to specific business partners.

In addition to the prison term, the court imposed a 4-million-yuan fine and ordered the complete confiscation of Liu’s personal wealth. While Liu expressed remorse and cooperated with investigators, which led to a mitigated sentence, the court noted that his misconduct caused significant damage to national economic governance.