Zhou was born in Puning, Guangdong province, to a poor family of farmers. He was the eldest of three children. He worked as a farm hand as a child, entering a local production team when he was only ten years old. He excelled at school.
Following the Wukan protests, on January 16, 2012, Zhou was detained by investigators from the anti-graft agency of the Communist Party.[2] On February 8, 2013, Zhou was expelled from the Chinese Communist Party for "serious violations of discipline and law." Zhou went on trial at the Xinyang Intermediate People's Court in Henan province in January 2014. He was charged with bribery and "amassing a large fortune of unclear origin."[3] He was charged with taking bribes equivalent of some 24.64 million yuan (~$3.95 million). In February, the Henan Provincial High Court confirmed the lower court's ruling and sentenced Zhou to death with a two-year reprieve.[4]
His successor, Luo Yinguo, was also charged with corruption.[5]
PB Former member of the Politburo; PLA Also a military official; CDI Member of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection or affiliates ; S Committed suicide 1For details on the civil service ranks of officials, please see Civil Service of the People's Republic of China; 2Army generals listed have attained at least the rank of Major General, which usually enjoys the same administrative privileges as a civilian official of sub-provincial rank.
