Sheng Guangzu ( zh, c=盛光祖, p=Shèng Guāngzǔ; born 5 April 1949) was the last Chinese

Minister of Railways A Ministry of Railways is a Cabinet department that exists or has existed in many Commonwealth states as well as others. It generally occurs in countries where railroad transportation is a particularly important part of the national infrastructur ...

, before the position was abolished in March 2013, and the first General Manager of

China Railway Corporation China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., doing business as China Railway (CR), is the national passenger and freight railroad corporation of the China, People's Republic of China. China Railway operates passenger and freight Rail transport in Chi ...

. He was formerly the head of the General Administration of Customs of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. He initially held several lower positions in the Ministry of Railways, and moved up the ranks starting in 2000. Sheng was also a member of the

17th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party The 17th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party was elected by the 17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, 17th Congress on 21 October 2007, and sat until the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, 18th Nat ...

Early life and education

Born in April 1949 in

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

, he holds a bachelor's degree.

Career

While deputy governor of the Ministry of China Railway Communication, he supported the creation of China Netcom to compete with

China Telecom China Telecom Corporation Limited (CT) is a Chinese telecommunications company. It is one of the publicly traded red chip companies of the state-owned China Telecommunications Corporation. The company's H shares have been traded on the Sto ...

. He became a board member of China Netcom and the Ministry of Railways was given a quarter interest in the company. Sheng replaced his predecessor

Liu Zhijun Liu Zhijun ( zh , s = 刘志军 , t = 劉志軍 , p = Liú Zhìjūn; born 29 January 1953) is a former Chinese politician who served as Ministry of Railways of the People's Republic of China, Minister of Railway. Liu was a peasant's son who le ...

who was dismissed for corruption. During his tenure, the Wenzhou train collision occurred on July 23, 2011, killing 40, and injuring 192 (12 severely). Sheng retired in October 2016. He was replaced by Lu Dongfu, as the first director of the National Railways Administration (NRA). In November 2016, he was appointed as vice-chairperson of the National People's Congress Financial and Economic Affairs Committee.

Downfall

On 25 March 2022, he was placed under investigation for "serious violations of discipline and laws" by the

Central Commission for Discipline Inspection The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) is the highest supervisory organ of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The CCDI is elected and supervised by the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, CCP National Congress. ...

(CCDI), the party's internal disciplinary body, and the

National Supervisory Commission The National Supervisory Commission is the highest supervisory and anti-corruption authority of the People's Republic of China. Formed in 2018 by an 2018 amendment to the Constitution of China, amendment to the Constitution of China, Constitut ...

, the highest anti-corruption agency of China. On September 19, he was expelled from the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

. He was arrested by the

Supreme People's Procuratorate The Supreme People's Procuratorate of the People's Republic of China (SPP) is the highest national agency responsible for legal prosecution and prosecutorial investigation in China. The SPP reports to the National People's Congress (NPC). The P ...

on October 8. In 2023 he was jailed for corruption.

References