China's top policy maker pleads to guilty to graft charges

BEIJING: China's former top energy czar and economic policymaker, who went on trial today for taking "advantage of his position" and accepting bribes worth $6 million, has pleaded guilty to the charges.

Liu Tienan, 59, formerly deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission and head of the National Energy Administration, was accused of taking advantage of his posts between 2002 and 2012 during a one-day trial at the Langfang Intermediate People's Court in north China's Hebei Province.

He was also a top leader of the ruling Communist Party. "Alone or together with his son Liu Decheng, Liu Tienan illegally received money and properties worth more than $5.8 million from five people and should be criminally charged for bribery," his indictment said.

Decheng has been dealt with in a separate trial, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Liu pleaded guilty to taking bribes at the conclusion of the trial, saying he would accept any punishment, the report said.

"Faced with the facts, I have been asking myself every time I read the indictment, is this me? How did I end up like this?" said a tearful Liu, according to court scripts post on its official microblog.

"Each morning as I wake up, I wonder where I am and how I have fallen into this state of deprivation," said Liu, adding he also led his son down the wrong road.

The five people mentioned in the indictment include Song Zuowen, board chairman of Nanshan Group based in east China's Shandong Province and Qiu Jianlin, board chairman of Zhejiang Hengyi Group Co. Ltd.

According to the indictment, Liu had taken bribes worth 16.49 million yuan from Qiu to help with examination and approval of projects during the period from 2006 to 2011.

Liu, who was elected an alternate member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party during the 18th party congress in November 2012, was placed under investigation in May last year, and was expelled from the Party three months later.

More than 70 reporters, lawmakers and people from various walks of life attended his trial.