Beijing Vice Mayor Sentenced to 12 Years — Linked to Car Crash at Zhongnanhai that Angered Xi

A police canine unit crosses a road before the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics near the Beijing National Stadium, or Birds Nest, on February 4, 2022 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin FrayerGetty Images)

[People News] Former Beijing Vice Mayor Gao Peng was sentenced to 12 years in prison on September 10 for bribery and dereliction of duty. Last year, during the sensitive period of the “Two Sessions,” a car rammed into Zhongnanhai—near Xi Jinping’s office. Barely a month later, Gao was taken down, with many believing that the crash was the real trigger for his downfall.

According to CCTV News, the Lüliang Intermediate People’s Court in Shanxi Province handed down the verdict on September 10. Gao was sentenced to 11 years for bribery and fined 3 million yuan, and 3 years for dereliction of duty. He will serve a combined sentence of 12 years and pay the fine.

The court found that between 2007 and 2024, while serving as chairman and general manager of the Beijing Metro Line 10 Investment Co., deputy head of Fengtai District, deputy director of the Beijing Development and Reform Commission, and later deputy party secretary, district head, and party secretary of Shunyi District, Gao used his positions to help others with promotions, business operations, and project contracting, receiving bribes totaling 43.86 million yuan.

Between May 2016 and June 2017, as Shunyi district chief and head of the preparatory group for the Shunyi Urban Living Exhibition Hall, Gao mishandled land acquisition and purchasing for the project, causing major losses to state assets.

Public records show Gao was promoted to vice mayor of Beijing in January 2023, overseeing the Municipal Urban Management Commission, the Transport Commission, and particularly the Tiananmen Area Administrative Committee. But after less than a year in the post, on April 21, 2024, he was placed under investigation.

Just over a month earlier, on March 10, 2024, at the height of the National People’s Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a shocking incident occurred: a black sedan attempted to ram into Zhongnanhai, the compound housing China’s State Council, the CCP Secretariat, and the General Office of the CCP Central Committee.

Reports said that in the early morning, a man drove a black sedan at high speed into the main gate at Xinhua Gate, but the car was stopped by the high threshold. Dozens of armed security guards and People’s Armed Police quickly surrounded the vehicle and dragged the driver out, reportedly with rough force. Witnesses claimed someone shouted “Murderer Communist Party!” The act was described by some as a “heroic suicide attack on Zhongnanhai”, and the driver was praised online as another “Bridge Man,” referencing Peng Lifa, who staged the famous Sitong Bridge protest in Beijing in 2022.

A Chinese media insider told The Epoch Times that immediately inside Xinhua Gate stands a screen wall inscribed with the words “Serve the People.” Behind it lies an artificial lake, with Xi Jinping’s office located about 1 km away from the lake.

The Zhongnanhai crash happened in March. By April 21, Vice Mayor Gao Peng was officially placed under investigation.