Tibet Autonomous Region Sports Bureau Director Nima Ciren fell from grace on May 25, 2026. Nima Ciren, known as the “godfather” of Chinese mountaineering, was the latest official in the Chinese sports system to be investigated in the past month, following the likes of Tan Jingfeng, former director of the Inner Mongolia Sports Bureau, and Wu Gang, deputy director.
On May 25, 2026, the website of the Central Discipline Inspection Commission of the Communist Party of China and the National Supervision Commission reported that Nima Ciren, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Tibet Autonomous Region Sports Bureau, was under investigation for serious violations of discipline and law.
Born in November 1968 in Yajin Naxi Township, Mangkang County, Qamdo City, Tibet Autonomous Region, according to public records, Nima Ciren joined the Tibet Sports Team in 1984 as an archer. He later became a translator and liaison officer at the Tibet Mountaineering Sports Management Center in 1989, then Deputy Director, and in 1999, he founded the Tibet Mountaineering School (now known as the Tibet Lhasa Himalayan Mountaineering Guide School). In 2001, Nima Ciren organized the first Tibet Mountaineering Conference, held annually since then. In 2020, he served as a consultant for the Everest Survey Mountaineering Front Command.
Nima Ciren has long been the captain of the Tibet Mountaineering Team and was appointed as the Deputy Director of the Tibet Autonomous Region Sports Bureau by 2014 at the latest, rising to the position of Director by 2019 at the latest.
In a September 2010 report by the CCP media “China News Network,” Nima Ciren was described as a “godfather” in the Chinese mountaineering community. The school he founded in 1999, the Tibet Mountaineering School, was recognized along with the French Chamonix National Ski Mountaineering School as the “only two mountaineering schools in the world.” Nima Ciren successfully climbed Mount Everest twice. Several students from the Tibet Mountaineering School have also summited Mount Everest multiple times.
On April 27, 2025, the Tibet Autonomous Region Discipline Inspection Commission announced five typical cases of violations of the Communist Party of China’s eight norms, including Liu Boqing, former Party Secretary and Deputy Director of the Sports Bureau of the Autonomous Region. The report stated that from 2016 to 2020, Liu Boqing repeatedly violated regulations by accepting banquets, travel activities, and entertainment arranged by management and service targets, accepting paid companionship from the opposite sex, with expenses covered by these individuals, receiving gifts and money from private entrepreneurs and social personnel, and long-term unauthorized use of vehicles from management and service targets. Liu Boqing was expelled from the Communist Party, had his retirement benefits adjusted, and faced criminal allegations.
On September 23, 2023, Liu Boqing, former Party Secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region Sports Bureau, was under investigation as reported.
According to public records, Liu Boqing previously served as the Deputy Director of the Education Department of the Tibet Autonomous Region and was appointed as the Party Secretary and Deputy Director of the Sports Bureau by at least March 2018. From 2018 to 2020, Nima Ciren and Liu Boqing worked together at the Tibet Autonomous Region Sports Bureau for nearly three years.
On May 20, 2026, Wu Gang, former member of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Sports Bureau and Deputy Director, was investigated. Born in October 1959, Wu Gang became the office director of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Sports Bureau in March 2006. He served as Deputy Director of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Sports Bureau from November 2011 to January 2019 and became a member of the 11th Executive Committee of the Chinese Football Association in August 2019.
On April 29, 2026, Tan Jingfeng, former Party Secretary and Director of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Sports Bureau, was also under investigation. Born in September 1961 in Tuquan County, Inner Mongolia, Tan Jingfeng previously held positions as Deputy County Chief, Deputy Party Secretary, and County Chief of Tuquan County, Executive Deputy Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee of Xing’an League, Member, Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee, Deputy Secretary and Minister of the Organization Department of Alxa League Committee of the Communist Party of China, Vice Chairman of the Alxa League Committee, Deputy Director, Party Group Member of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Development and Reform Commission.
Tan Jingfeng became the Party Secretary and Director of the Sports Bureau of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in April 2014, until he stepped down in April 2021. During this time, Wu Gang served as Tan Jingfeng’s deputy for almost five years.
Recent reports have shown that several officials in the Chinese sports system have been investigated in the past month.
On April 29, 2026, Zhang Jun, Chairman of the Chinese Badminton Association and Deputy Dean of Nanjing Sports College, was also under investigation. Born in November 1977 in Suzhou, Jiangsu, Zhang Jun, a national coach, won the mixed doubles gold medal at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and repeated the victory at the Athens Olympics in 2004.
Additionally, on May 22, 2026, Huang Huanlian, former Deputy Director of the Sports Venue Center in Foshan, Guangdong Province, was also under investigation.
Other officials in the sports sector who have fallen from grace include Li Xiaorong, Party Member and Deputy Director of the Education and Sports Bureau of Gaoping District, Nanchong City, Sichuan Province, on May 12, and Xiong Fu, Party Secretary and Director of the Education and Sports Bureau of Gengma County, Lincang City, Yunnan Province, on April 30.
Since the investigation of the former head coach of the Chinese national football team, Li Tie, in November 2022, corruption within the Chinese sports industry has once again become the focus of public discourse. Subsequently, dozens of high-ranking officials and executives, such as Gou Zhongwen, former Director of the General Administration of Sport of China, Du Zhaocai, former Deputy Director of the General Administration of Sport of China and former Secretary of the Chinese Football Association, and Chen Xuyuan, former Chairman of the Chinese Football Association, have been investigated. The National Sports Administration of the Communist Party of China and its subordinated associations, including football, track and field, winter sports, and aquatics, have all been implicated in corruption scandals.