Chinese court sentenced former mayor of Wuhan city to 14 years in prison for bribery

Former Wuhan mayor Zhou Xianwang was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Saturday after being found guilty of bribery, according to reports from Beijing. The court also imposed a fine of 5 million yuan ($747,000). The court emphasized that Zhou received bribes in exchange for assistance with various matters between 2003 and 2025.

The total value of the bribes exceeded 60.5 million yuan ($9 million). The court stated that Zhou's sentence could be reduced due to his confession and cooperation with authorities, as well as the recovery of most of the proceeds.

The court's decision comes amid intensified anti-corruption drives under Chinese leader Xi Jinping since 2012. Thousands of officials have been purged, including high-profile political rivals. In response to allegations about Wuhan's handling of information during the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak, Zhou maintained that local governments are prohibited from releasing information about infectious diseases without authorization.

The first cases of flu-like symptoms appeared in Wuhan hospitals in December 2019, leading to a near-complete sequencing of the virus at a Chinese lab in January 2020. Despite this, health authorities initially downplayed the potential for human-to-human transmission of the virus. Wuhan subsequently implemented a 76-day lockdown starting January 23, 2020.