Guangdong official admits to accepting bribes

A former deputy secretary-general of Guangdong province confessed to accepting large bribes as his trial opened in Guangzhou on Nov 6.

Xie Pengfei, 63, said he would respect and accept the court's final ruling, which has not been issued yet.

Xie, who is also former head of the Guangdong provincial government's development research center, was tried at Baiyun District People's Court in Guangzhou for taking bribes valued at more than 14 million yuan ($2.26 million), plus HK$2.4 million ($300,000) and $210,000 worth of foreign currencies, in 20 separate cases when he was in office.

A native of Hainan province, Xie was removed from his public post and expelled from the Communist Party of China for violating Party discipline and State laws in August 2012 after his case was exposed.

He is one of the more than 30 prefecture-level Party and government officials who were investigated and charged for accepting bribes in the southern province of Guangdong in two years.