Former Chairman of the Zhejiang Provincial Political Consultative Conference in Taizhou City, Chen Weiyi, surrendered himself on January 30, 2026. Chen Weiyi served under Cai Qi, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, during his tenure as the leader of Taizhou. In recent years, several former subordinates of Cai Qi in Taizhou have turned themselves in for investigation.
On January 30, 2026, the official website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC published a report from the Zhejiang Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, stating that Chen Weiyi, former Party Secretary and Chairman of the Taizhou Municipal Political Consultative Conference in Zhejiang Province, is suspected of “serious violations of discipline and law” and voluntarily surrendered himself to accept investigation.
Chen Weiyi, born in June 1960 in Tiantai County, Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, has held various positions including Party Committee Member and Minister of the Propaganda Department at Taizhou Normal College, President and Party Secretary of Linhai Teachers College, Deputy Secretary of the Xianju County Party Committee (at the department level), Deputy Secretary-General of the Taizhou Municipal Government, and Member of the Party Committee at the Municipal Government Office (at the department level). In 2002, he temporarily served as the County Head of Yuhuan County in Taizhou, officially assuming the position in April 2003. In June 2005, he became the Secretary of the Wenling City Committee, a subordinate of Taizhou City. In November 2009, he became a Standing Committee Member of the CPC Taizhou Municipal Committee and the Secretary of the Huangyan District Committee. On March 31, 2017, he took on the role of Chairman of the Taizhou Municipal Political Consultative Conference.
During the period when Chen Weiyi served as the Secretary of the Wenling City Committee, Xi Jinping, who is now a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, held various positions in the Zhejiang Party and government from 2002 to 2007.
In September 2004, the inaugural China Island Culture Festival opened in Yuhuan County, Taizhou City, with Chen Weiyi, then Deputy Secretary of the County Party Committee and County Head, presiding over the opening ceremony. Officials including Cai Qi, then Secretary of the Taizhou Municipal Party Committee, Li Qing, Vice Chairman of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and Zhang Xu, Director of the Social Text Department of the Ministry of Culture, attended the event.
On June 14, 2005, Xi Jinping, who was the Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee at the time, visited Wenling City in Taizhou. Cai Qi, then Secretary of the Taizhou Municipal Party Committee, Mayor Zhang Hongming, Wang Jingsheng, Secretary, and Wang Jianping, Mayor of Wenling City, as well as Deputy Secretary Ye Haiyan accompanied him.
After Xi Jinping’s visit, a significant reshuffle took place in the officialdom of Wenling City. Chen Weiyi replaced the 60-year-old Wang Jingsheng as the Secretary of the Wenling City Committee, having been promoted from County Head of Yuhuan County. Wang Jianping, the Mayor of Wenling City, was transferred to the Secretary of the Jiaojiang District Committee in Taizhou. Ye Haiyan, the Deputy Secretary of Wenling, acted as the Mayor.
In July 2006, Zhejiang Daily reported that Cai Qi, then Secretary of the Taizhou Municipal Party Committee, personally called Chen Weiyi, the Secretary of the Wenling City Committee, regarding a civil affairs-related matter.
Taizhou City is a prefecture-level city under the jurisdiction of Zhejiang Province and a central city in the coastal area of the Yangtze River Delta. Taizhou is also a city with a rich historical and cultural heritage, known as the “Fairyland on the Sea” and renowned as the “Gateway to the East Sea”. Wenling City is a county-level city under the administration of Taizhou and is located in the famous Wenhuang Plain, often referred to as the “land of fish and rice” and praised as the “kingdom of shrimp”.
Starting around the time of the Third Plenum of the 20th CPC National Congress in July 2024, rumors concerning the health and power crisis of Xi Jinping, the CPC leader, have been circulating. Concurrently, a continuous purge has been taking place in Zhejiang’s officialdom under his previous leadership, including multiple Taizhou officials.
Less than a week after the conclusion of the Third Plenum, on July 23, 2024, Ke Xinye, former Deputy Secretary of the Party Group and Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Taizhou Municipal People’s Congress, voluntarily turned himself in; and on December 13, 2024, Lin Hong, Vice Chairman of the Taizhou Municipal Political Consultative Conference, was brought down.
In addition, Wu Caiping, a Standing Committee Member of the CPC Taizhou Municipal Committee and Secretary-General of the Municipal Party Committee, voluntarily surrendered on November 25, 2023.
During Cai Qi’s tenure in Taizhou, Ke Xinye was promoted from County Head of Xianju to Secretary of the County Committee; Lin Hong was elevated from Deputy Director of the Foreign Economic and Trade Bureau of Taizhou to Deputy Secretary of the Linhai City Committee; and Wu Caiping was successively promoted to Deputy Director of the Foreign Economic and Trade Bureau of Taizhou and Deputy County Head of Sanmen County.
From January 2010 to November 2013, Cai Qi served as a Member of the Standing Committee of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee and Minister of Organization of the CPC. During this time, Ke Xinye was promoted to a Standing Committee Member of the Taizhou Municipal Committee and Secretary of the Linhai City Committee; Lin Hong was promoted to the County Head of Xianju; and Wu Caiping was promoted from Secretary of the Sanmen County Discipline Inspection Commission to Deputy Secretary-General of the Taizhou Municipal Government.
Cai Qi is a close associate of Xi Jinping from his time in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. He has held various positions such as Deputy Director of the General Office of the Fujian Provincial Party Committee, Deputy Secretary, and Mayor of Sanming, Mayor of Quzhou City in Zhejiang Province, Secretary of the Taizhou Municipal Committee, Mayor of Hangzhou, Minister of Organization of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, and Executive Deputy Governor.
Xi Jinping’s rise to power during the 18th National Congress saw Cai Qi’s rapid career advancement, leading to key positions like Executive Deputy Director of the Office of the National Security Commission, Deputy Secretary, and Mayor of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC, Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee, etc. During the 19th National Congress of the CPC, 67-year-old Cai Qi was promoted to a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and concurrently holds positions including First Secretary of the Central Secretariat, Head of the General Office of the CPC, and positions in the Central and State Organs Work Committee. He is considered to wield actual power, potentially surpassing Premier Li Keqiang in the ranking of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau.
Cai Qi is also a leading figure in the Xi Jinping faction’s Fujian Gang. The Fujian Gang includes State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiao, Political Bureau member and Vice Premier He Lifeng, and other important party and government officials.