Sun Zhengcai · Full chronicle and history

The first-instance trial of Sun Zhengcai's bribery case opened at the Tianjin No. 1 Intermediate People's Court on April 12, 2018; online posts claim that evidence footage played in court showed Zhang Jun as one of those who offered bribes, a claim not seen in any public reports.

In July 2017, Sun Zhengcai was suddenly investigated and expelled from the CCP. He and Hu Chunhua were once seen as candidates for the sixth-generation leadership; his downfall marked a turning point for the succession plans Hu Jintao had left for himself.

Duan Weihong began befriending Sun Zhengcai, then-Party Secretary of Beijing's Shunyi District, in 2001, laying the foundation for her future political connections.