In a court session held a year after the first trial, Cheng Feng, former vice president of Shanghai Newspaper Group and former chairman of The Paper, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for allegedly accepting bribes exceeding 38.51 million Chinese yuan (RMB) and concealing overseas deposits amounting to more than 1.0382 million yuan.
On the morning of January 14, the Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court publicly announced the verdict of Cheng Feng, former vice president of Shanghai Newspaper Group, for bribery and concealing overseas deposits. Cheng Feng was sentenced to 11 years in prison for bribery and fined 3 million yuan; he was also sentenced to 5 months of detention for concealing overseas deposits. The court decided to carry out an 11-year prison term and impose a 3 million yuan fine.
According to the court, from 2006 to 2023, Cheng Feng used his positions as general manager of the Administrative Headquarters of Shanghai International Group Limited Company, chairman of Shanghai Guo Sheng Dian Dang Limited Company, vice president of Shanghai Newspaper Group, chairman of Shanghai Shang Bao Asset Management Limited Company, chairman of Shanghai Rui Li Investment Fund Management Limited Company, and executive director of Shanghai Wen Hui Xin Min Industry Limited Company to provide assistance and seek benefits for related entities and individuals in matters such as joint venture investments, acquiring investments, undertaking projects, and auction acquisitions, receiving a total of over 38.5178 million yuan in bribes, of which 1 million yuan was not actually obtained.
From March to May 2023, Cheng Feng repeatedly handed over a total of 149,900 US dollars (equivalent to more than 1.0382 million yuan) in cash to his relatives to be taken to the Philippines, where it was deposited in a bank under their names to conceal the funds.
In July 2023, Cheng Feng, while in his position, faced investigation. In December of the same year, he was expelled from the Party and handed over to judicial authorities. The first trial was held on January 17, 2024.
Public records show that Cheng Feng was born in December 1971 in Shanghai. He graduated from Shanghai Jiaotong University with a major in industrial foreign trade and has worked in Shanghai for a long time. He has held various positions such as Secretary of the Communist Youth League of the Shanghai Foreign Economic and Trade Commission, Vice President of Shanghai Machinery Import and Export Group, Director of Technology Import Department and Director of Technology Development and Technology Trade Department of the Shanghai Foreign Economic and Trade Commission, Director of the Office of Shanghai International Group, and Chairman of Shanghai State-owned Asset Management Limited Company.
Starting in April 2005, Cheng Feng held positions such as Director of the Office and Information Center of Shanghai International Group, General Manager of the Administrative Headquarters (also serving as Chairman and General Manager of Shanghai Guo Sheng Dian Dang Limited Company), General Manager and Chairman of Shanghai International Group Financial Services Limited Company, and Chairman of Shanghai State-owned Asset Management Limited Company.
From October 2013, Cheng Feng served as vice president of Shanghai Newspaper Group. In the same month, after Shanghai Newspaper Group’s “News Evening News” announced its closure, “Oriental Morning Post” was required to establish a website, which went live in 2014.
By late June 2014, The Paper’s homepage was searchable on search engines, and it was fully launched on July 22 as a comprehensive news website.
According to information from “Tianyancha,” in 2018, there was a change in the legal representative of The Paper (Shanghai Dongfang Newspaper Industry Co., Ltd.) from Wang Wei to Cheng Feng, who became the legal representative of The Paper and took over as chairman of the company.