From March 20th to 27th, 2026, within eight days, four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials from the water conservancy system fell from grace, including Chen Wenfu, a first-level consultant at the Three Gorges Construction Group, and Wang Rongxi, former director of the Anhui Provincial Department of Water Resources. Earlier in 2026, Tian Xuebin, former party committee member and deputy minister of the CCP’s Ministry of Water Resources, was investigated.
On March 27, 2026, according to a report by the official website of the CCP Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission, Wang Rongxi, former party committee secretary and director of the Anhui Provincial Department of Water Resources, was “suspected of serious violations of discipline and law” and is under investigation.
Public records show that Wang Rongxi was born in September 1965 in Guangde, Anhui Province. He had a long career in the Anhui Provincial water conservancy system, serving as a member of the Anhui Provincial Department of Water Resources Party Committee and Deputy Director in November 2018, Director in March 2023, and retired in September 2025.
Additionally, on March 24, 2026, Xu Yanbin, member of the party committee and director of the Jiangxi Poyang Lake Water Conservancy Hub Construction Office, was under investigation. Xu Yanbin, born in October 1973 in Heilongjiang, was transferred to the position from being a member of the CCP Jiangxi Provincial Government and Secretary-General to Director of the Poyang Lake Water Conservancy Hub Construction Office, a department under the management of the Jiangxi Provincial Department of Water Resources.
On March 23, 2026, Chen Wenfu, a first-level consultant at the Three Gorges Construction Group, was investigated. The Three Gorges Construction Group is a state-owned enterprise wholly owned by the China Three Gorges Corporation. Chen Wenfu, born in December 1966, is a senior engineer with extensive experience in large-scale hydroelectric engineering construction. He has led projects such as the construction of the second-phase plant of the Three Gorges Project and the temperature control of the third-phase dam, and held positions such as Deputy Head of the Xi Luo Du Hydropower Station Dam Project and Chief Professional Engineer at the Baihetan Project Construction.
Furthermore, on March 20, 2026, Jiang Ruhua, former party committee member and deputy director of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Water Resources, voluntarily submitted to an investigation. Jiang Ruhua, born in June 1962 in Jinhua, Zhejiang, had a long career in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy before switching to the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Water Resources as Deputy Director and party committee member.
As early as January 5, 2026, Tian Xuebin, born in 1963 in Huining, Gansu Province, a former party committee member and deputy minister of the Ministry of Water Resources, became the “first tiger” of 2026. On February 6, he was stripped of his membership in the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
The Chinese Communist Party’s water conservancy system has seen frequent corruption cases. On June 28, 2015, the Chinese Ministry of Supervision announced in its audit report for the 2013 financial year of the Three Gorges Group, revealing extensive corruption and mismanagement within the group. Issues discovered included irregular operations in the bidding process, involving 434 contracts and a total amount of 12.267 billion yuan from 2010 to March 2014.
In January 2025, a special anti-corruption program aired on Guizhou TV mentioned the downfall of three departmental officials from the Guizhou Provincial water conservancy system. It stated that the policy support in the water conservancy field was significant and funding-intensive, making corruption problems more likely to occur due to the large funding involved in water conservancy projects. Many officials were reported to go to great lengths and take risks to seek high-ranking positions within the water conservancy system, resorting to various methods to gain promotions and positions of authority.