时事新闻:刘志军因受贿被判处死缓

China has handed down the most significant corruption sentence in more than five years in a case seen as a test of how far the new leadership will go in fighting graft.

中国对5年多来最引人注目的一起腐败案件做出判决，此案被视为对新领导层打击腐败决心的考验。

Liu Zhijun, former railway minister, was yesterday given a suspended death sentence for bribery and abuse of power, state media said.

官方媒体报道称，铁道部前部长刘志军昨天因受贿和滥用职权被判处死缓。

Mr Liu was removed from the railway ministry more than two years ago under the government of Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, who retired in March, but the ruling comes as Mr Hu’s successor, President Xi Jinping, has made an anti-corruption campaign a cornerstone of his rule.

早在两年多前，刘志军就被胡锦涛和温家宝（两人于今年3月退休）政府罢免铁道部长职务，但此次判决的背景是胡锦涛的继任者、中国国家主席习近平将反腐运动作为其执政的基石。

Many independent ob-servers have dismissed the campaign as an attempt by the ruling Communist party to improve its image without making substantial changes.

许多独立观察人士对反腐运动并不看好，认为它代表着执政的共产党试图在不做出实质性变革的前提下改善自身形象。

The former railway minister’s case has been overshadowed by the fall of Bo Xilai, the former party secretary of the western municipality of Chongqing and aspirant to a senior leadership seat. Mr Bo was sacked last year following the flight of his former police chief to a US consulate and the prosecution of his wife for involvement in the murder of Neil Heywood, a former British business associate.

比起薄熙来的落马，刘志军一案有些相形见绌。薄熙来曾任西部直辖市重庆的市委书记，并渴望跻身最高领导层圈子。在重庆前公安局局长叛逃至美国领事馆，以及妻子因参与谋杀前英国生意伙伴尼尔•海伍德(Neil Heywood)而被提起公诉后，薄熙来去年被解除职务。

The Communist party’s internal discipline watchdog accused Mr Bo of a long list of corruption-related crimes. However, Mr Bo has yet to be formally tried.

共产党内部的纪检部门指控薄熙来犯有多项与腐败有关的罪名，但薄尚未正式受审。

Mr Liu is the most senior official to be convicted of corruption since Chen Liangyu, former Communist party secretary of Shanghai and a member of the party’s politburo, was given an 18-year prison term on corruption charges in April 2008.

刘志军是陈良宇以来被判犯有腐败罪名的最高级别官员。陈良宇是前上海市委书记、中共中央政治局委员，于2008年4月因腐败罪名被判处18年有期徒刑。

Mr Liu took Rmb64.4m ($10.53m) in bribes for helping 11 people win contracts or get promotions between 1986 and 2011, said Xinhua, the official news agency.

官方通讯社新华社称，在1986年至2011年期间，刘志军受贿人民币6440万元（1053万美元），帮助11个人赢得合同或升职。

Chinese law allows the death penalty against people convicted of taking bribes of more than Rmb100,000. Death sentences with a two-year reprieve like the one given to Mr Liu are often converted to life in prison.

根据中国法律，被认定受贿超过人民币10万元者便有可能被判处死刑。刘志军被判处死刑缓期两年执行，该刑罚通常会转化为无期徒刑。