China has sentenced a former provincial deputy governor to life in prison for accepting almost $2 million in bribes, the most senior official to be punished since the country's new leadership made tackling corruption its top priority. Huang Sheng, former deputy governor of the eastern province of Shandong, accepted more than 12 million yuan ($1.95 million) from organisations and individuals between 1998 and 2011, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
In addition to the jail sentence, Huang's assets were confiscated. Xinhua said. President Xi Jinping, who took over in March in a once-a-decade leadership transition, has called for a crackdown on corruption, warning that the problem is so severe it could threaten the party's survival.