Former China vice governor sentenced for corruption News
Former China vice governor sentenced for corruption

The Tianjin No 1 Intermediate People’s Court on Wednesday sentenced Ji Wenlin, the former vice governor of south China’s Hainan Province, to 12 years in prison on corruption charges. The former government official was found [Xinhua report] to have used his office to collect millions in bribes and assetss to benefit himself and others. His case is one of many [Reuters report] brought by China’s communist party [official website] to end corruption. Ji was the Mayor of Haikou and the vice-Governor of Hainan before he was removed [Reuters report] in 2014.

The Chinese government has increased the prosecution of domestic corruption increased following the appointment of President Xi Jinping [BBC profile] in 2013. In February the Hangzhou Christian Council announced [JURIST report] that a prominent Chinese Pastor is under investigation for corruption involving the embezzlement of state funds. In November a Chinese court jailed a top aide to the country’s former security chief [JURIST report] Zhou Yongkang on corruption charges. In October Chinese state media reported that the former head of the country’s biggest oil firm was sentenced to 16 years in prison [JURIST report] for corruption. In September prosecutors in China announced that they will be investigating former China Supreme Court justice Xi Xiaoming on corruption charges [JURIST report]. In August a former general in China’s People’s Liberation Army, Gu Junshan, was sentenced [JURIST report] by a Chinese military court to death with a two year reprieve for corruption charges.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Justice Department brings anit-trust action against AT&T

On November 20, 1974, the Department of Justice filed its final anti-trust suit against AT&T. United States v. AT&T was ultimately settled out of court with an agreement that the corporation would break up its monopoly on phone service throughout the country.

Nuremberg war crimes trials began

On November 20, 1945, the war crimes trials of Nazi World War II leaders began in the German city of Nuremberg. Review the Nuremberg Tribunal's Charter and the verdicts and sentences handed down on major war figures.

Winston Churchill born

On November 20, 1874, Sir Winston Churchill was born in Woodstock, England. He would go on to lead the United Kingdom as Prime Minister through World War II. Toward the end of the war, Churchill worked with US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to craft the treaties and accords that have defined the world since WWII. A 2002 poll by the BBC declared Churchill the Greatest Briton of all time.

New Jersey ratifies Bill of Rights

New Jersey ratified the Bill of Rights, a set of 10 fundamental amendments to the US Constitution, on November 20, 1789, becoming the first state to do so. The state also ratified an amendment on federal representation which ultimately failed. Additionally, New Jersey rejected an amendment on congressional salaries, which would eventually become the 27th Amendment more than 200 years later. Read the articles ratified by New Jersey.