Hubei Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee Vice Chairman, former Hubei Vice Governor, and former Mayor of Wuhan, Cheng Yongwen, has been mysteriously missing for over three weeks since late May 2026, and has consecutively been absent from the meetings of the Hubei Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee. Recently, there have been reports from self-media alleging that Cheng Yongwen committed suicide after being questioned.
Cheng Yongwen served as the secretary of Wang Xiaodong during his tenure as the Executive Vice Governor and Governor of Hubei, and as the deputy to Wang Zhonglin during his tenure as the Governor of Hubei and Director of the Provincial People’s Congress. Wang Xiaodong was investigated and dismissed on May 17, 2026. Wang Zhonglin unexpectedly resigned as Secretary of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee on May 30, 2026, and his current career path is unknown.
According to the Hubei Daily, on June 15, 2026, the 14th session of the Hubei Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee held a chairperson meeting; Ma Guoqiang, the Party Secretary and Executive Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee, chaired the meeting; Vice Chairmen of the Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee, Guo Yuanqiang, Liu Xuerong, Yang Yunyan, Xu Wenhai, and Secretary-General Lei Wenjie attended the meeting.
Among the six current Vice Chairmen of the Hubei Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee, only Cheng Yongwen was absent.
Three weeks ago, Hubei People’s Congressnet reported that on May 27 and 28, 2026, the 24th meeting of the 14th Hubei Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee was held in Wuchang, and Cheng Yongwen, Vice Chairman of the Hubei Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee, was also notably absent.
Furthermore, Cheng Yongwen missed the Party Committee meetings of the Hubei Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee held on May 27 and June 9, 2026.
Prior to that, Cheng Yongwen attended the chairperson meeting and party committee meeting of the 14th Hubei Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee on May 14, 2026, and the 23rd meeting of the 14th Hubei Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee on March 30 and 31, 2026.
Since May 15, 2026, Cheng Yongwen has not been seen in public activities, remaining mysteriously absent for over three weeks.
Jaing Wangzheng, a commentator who has been revealing the movements of senior Chinese Communist Party officials, exposed on May 12, 2026, in a self-media program that former Hubei Provincial Deputy Party Secretary and Governor Wang Xiaodong was being investigated, and his secretary Cheng Yongwen was being questioned.
On May 17, 2026, Wang Xiaodong, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Deputy Director of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, and former Governor of Hubei Province, was officially removed from office.
Jaing Wangzheng further disclosed on June 13, 2026, that Cheng Yongwen, former secretary of Hubei Governor Wang Xiaodong, former Hubei Vice Governor, Vice Secretary of the Wuhan Municipal Party Committee, and Mayor of Wuhan, committed suicide.
According to public records, Cheng Yongwen was born in July 1965 in Yangxin County, Huangshi City, Hubei Province. He graduated from the Hubei Xiantao Region School of Finance and Trade with a major in enterprise finance management. From March 1994 to March 2006, he worked for 12 years in the General Office of the Hubei Provincial Government; from March 2006 to March 2013, he held various positions in the Finance Department of Hubei Province, including as a member of the Party group, chief accountant, and deputy director.
In March 2013, Cheng Yongwen was appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the Hubei Provincial Government and a member of the Party group of the Provincial Government Office; in January 2016, he was promoted to Deputy Secretary-General of the Hubei Provincial Government and Vice Secretary of the Party group of the Provincial Government Office. During this time, Cheng Yongwen served as the secretary to Wang Xiaodong, who was the Executive Vice Governor and Vice Secretary of the Party group of Hubei Province, accompanying Wang Xiaodong on multiple public activities. In June 2013, the Hubei provincial government established the Leadership Team for the Third Economic Census, with Wang Xiaodong, the then Executive Vice Governor, as the team leader and Cheng Yongwen, the deputy secretary-general of the provincial government office, as the deputy team leader.
From September 2016 to May 2021, during Wang Xiaodong’s tenure as Governor of Hubei Province, Cheng Yongwen began serving as a member of the Party group and Deputy Mayor of the Wuhan Municipal Government, a member of the Wuhan Municipal Party Committee, Secretary of the Wuhan East Lake New Technology Development Zone Working Committee, Director of the Hubei Provincial Development and Reform Commission, and Secretary of the Party group, as well as the director of the Hubei Aid-Xinjiang Office. In February 2021, he succeeded Zhou Xianwang as Deputy Secretary of the Wuhan Municipal Party Committee, Mayor, and Secretary of the Party group of the municipal government.
From May 2021 to January 2025, during Wang Zhonglin’s tenure as Governor of Hubei Province, Cheng Yongwen was promoted to Deputy Governor and a member of the Party group of the Hubei Provincial Government, serving as Wang Zhonglin’s deputy for eight months. In January 2026, Cheng Yongwen was transferred to Vice Chairman of the Hubei Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee and a member of the Party group, once again serving as Deputy to Wang Zhonglin, Chairman of the Hubei Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee.
At the end of 2019, the COVID-19 epidemic broke out in Wuhan, leading to a purge of officials in Hubei. In February 2020, then Party Secretary of Hubei Province, Jiang Chaoliang, and Wuhan Secretary Ma Guoqiang were removed from their positions. In January 2021, Wuhan Mayor Zhou Xianwang was transferred to become the Deputy Chairman of the Hubei Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
Over the past year, former high-ranking officials in Hubei Province and Wuhan City have been successively investigated. On February 21, 2025, Jiang Chaoliang was accused of corruption and dismissed from office. On July 8, 2025, Zhou Xianwang was investigated. On May 17, 2026, Jiang Chaoliang’s partner, former Governor of Hubei Province, Wang Xiaodong, was also investigated.
Cheng Yongwen’s former leader Wang Zhonglin served as Secretary of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee for less than a year and a half before unexpectedly resigning on May 30, 2026. There were rumors circulating both before and after his resignation regarding Wang Zhonglin’s potential appointment as Minister of State Security or Minister of Public Security, transfer to a leisurely position in the National People’s Congress, or even being investigated.