On April 13, it was officially announced that Jiang Duntao, a former member of the Chongqing Municipal Government Party Committee and Deputy Mayor, has been expelled from the Party and is under investigation.
Jiang Duntao has been accused of seeking quick success and instant benefits, acting recklessly, resisting investigation, engaging in superstitious activities, accepting banquets and travel arrangements, failing to report personal matters as required, seeking gains for others and accepting bribes, illegally accepting gifts and money, illegally giving gifts and gift cards, engaging in profit-making activities against regulations, using his position for personal gain, and using public funds to pay for personal expenses. He has also been accused of intervening in market economic activities, law enforcement activities, engaging in corrupt practices, and accepting substantial amounts of money.
Jiang Duntao has been expelled from the Party on charges of serious violations of duty and alleged bribery, and his qualification as a delegate to the 20th National Congress has been terminated.
After the conclusion of the Fourth Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China last October, Jiang Duntao was officially announced to have fallen from grace on the 25th of that month, becoming the 49th central-level official publicly reported to have fallen from grace last year.
Public records show that Jiang Duntao was born in May 1969 in Shandong and held various positions in Qingdao, including District Chief and District Committee Secretary. He served as the Secretary of the Zibo Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China in August 2019, the Secretary of the Weifang Municipal Committee in July 2022, and the Director of the Standing Committee of the Weifang Municipal People’s Congress in December 2022. He was appointed Deputy Mayor of Chongqing on January 17, 2023.
Recently, there has been continued turmoil in the Chongqing political arena. On March 20th of this year, Hu Henghua, the Deputy Secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Party Committee and Mayor, was also announced to have fallen from grace.
The frequent scandals involving high-ranking officials in Chongqing are seen by the public as having a “curse.”
Bo Xilai, who was the Secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee, was removed from office on March 15, 2012, and sentenced to life imprisonment on September 22, 2013. Sun Zhengcai, who also served as the Secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee, fell from grace in July 2017. Four successive Directors of the Chongqing Public Security Bureau, including Wang Lijun, He Ting, Zhu Mingguo, and Deng Huilin, were also removed from office.
At the end of October 2019, during the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee in Beijing, Ren Xuefeng, the then Deputy Secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee, died in a mysterious fall, reportedly from a building.
In recent years, the Beijing authorities have been “clearing the remnants of the Bo Xilai-Sun Zhengcai era.” Vice-ministerial officials who have been investigated include Xiong Xue, former Deputy Mayor of Chongqing, Jiang Duntao, former Vice Chairman of the Chongqing People’s Congress, Zheng Hong, former Deputy Director of the Chongqing Municipal Committee and Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee, and Du Chenggang, former Vice Chairman of the Chongqing CPPCC. Wu Cunrong, the former Chairman of the Shanxi Provincial CPPCC, who was also a former Deputy Mayor of Chongqing, has fallen from grace. Tang Liangzhi, who served as the Mayor of Chongqing, was demoted to Chairman of the Anhui Provincial CPPCC before stepping down recently and being appointed Deputy Director of the National Committee of the CPPCC’s Education, Science, Health, and Sports Commission.