After the former director of the Nanjing Museum, Xu Huping, was investigated, on March 19, the 71-year-old former Party Secretary of the Capital Museum of the Communist Party of China, Hao Dongchen, was also officially announced to have been taken down from office.
According to the report released by the Beijing Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision on March 19, Hao Dongchen, former member of the Party Leadership Group and deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage, is suspected of serious violations of discipline and law, and is currently undergoing disciplinary review and supervisory investigation by the Beijing Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision.
Hao Dongchen, 71, is from Qingfeng, Henan Province. In his early years, he served in a certain unit of the former Beijing Military Region’s Artillery, and then entered the Beijing cultural relic protection system. He held positions such as Deputy Director and Director of Security Department of the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage, Deputy Director and Director of the Security Department of the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage, Director of Security Inspection Department and Captain of the Cultural Relics Supervision and Law Enforcement Team of the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage, Deputy Inspector of the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage, Executive Deputy Director of the Capital Museum, and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee.
In November 2010, Hao Dongchen was appointed as the deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage, concurrently serving as the Party Secretary and legal representative of the Capital Museum, until his recent investigation.
Prior to this, on December 21 of last year, Guo Lidian, a retired employee of the Nanjing Museum, displayed a joint report letter by 42 senior staff members via a WeChat video platform, accusing former director Xu Huping of large-scale theft and smuggling of national treasures from the Palace Museum for relocation to the south. Following the exposure of this news, Xu Huping, along with his spouse and nanny, were taken away from their villa the following evening.
On February 9 of this year, the investigation team of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government of the Communist Party of China issued a report stating that former Nanjing Museum director Xu Huping and 24 others were held accountable and dealt with.
Previous reports:
Former Director of the Nanjing Museum, Xu Huping, Investigated – Official Report Questioned