Photo: Barry Bahler / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Zhou Yongkang is one of the most dramatic fall-from-grace stories in modern Chinese political history, and I find myself genuinely fascinated by how a man from Wuxi could climb all the way to the Politburo Standing Committee — the nine-person body that effectively runs the world's most populous nation — only to become the highest-ranked Chinese official ever convicted in a corruption case. He ran China's vast security apparatus for years, which made him essentially untouchable during his prime, yet Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign reached him anyway in 2014. His 2015 life sentence felt like a turning point that told the whole world the rules of the game in Beijing had fundamentally changed. Whether you see him as a villain, a scapegoat, or a cautionary tale about unchecked power, he's impossible to look away from.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Zhou Yongkang
- Name (Japanese)
- 周永康
- Reading
- しゅう・えいこう
- Born
- December 3, 1942 (age 83)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Sagittarius / Horse
- Origin
- Wuxi, People's Republic of China
- Occupation
- politician
2. Background
- High school
- Suzhou High School
- University
- China University of Petroleum (Beijing)
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%91%A8%E6%B0%B8%E5%BA%B7
Frequently asked questions
When was Zhou Yongkang born?
Born December 3, 1942 (age 83).
Where is Zhou Yongkang from?
Zhou Yongkang is from Wuxi, People's Republic of China.
What does Zhou Yongkang do?
Zhou Yongkang works as politician.
Politician — see all → · More people from People's Republic of China →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.