The Chinese officialdom has frequently witnessed mysterious sudden death cases. Today (16th), Sichuan authorities announced that Huang Ruixue, who was appointed as the deputy governor of the province just last July, passed away yesterday evening (15th) due to a sudden illness at the age of 54. However, there are online rumors suggesting that Huang Ruixue might have committed suicide.
According to the Sichuan official media “Chuan Observer News” on the afternoon of the 16th, based on the information from the funeral work group of Huang Ruixue in Sichuan Province, Huang Ruixue, who also served as the Party Secretary and Director of the Public Security Department of Sichuan Province, passed away due to a sudden illness despite rescue efforts being ineffective on July 15, 2026 at 20:30, at the age of 54.
Public records show that Huang Ruixue was born in February 1972 in Xinyu, Jiangxi Province. He previously worked at the Ministry of Public Security’s Bureau of Domestic Security, and in September 2013, he became the Deputy Director of the Public Security Department of Qinghai Province. Two years later, he returned to the Ministry of Public Security, serving as the Deputy Director of the Office, and in 2019, he became the Political Commissar of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation. In August 2020, he was promoted to the Party Secretary and Director of the Office of the Ministry of Public Security, when Zhao Kezhi was the Minister of Public Security.
In June 2022, Huang Ruixue was transferred to Gansu Province and appointed as the Party Secretary and Director of the Provincial Public Security Department, as well as the Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Committee for Political and Legal Affairs. In January the following year, he became the Deputy Governor of Gansu Province and concurrently served as the Party Secretary and Director of the Provincial Public Security Department, along with being the Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Committee for Political and Legal Affairs.
In early July 2025, Huang Ruixue was appointed as a member of the Party committee of the Sichuan Provincial Government, the Party Secretary and Inspector General of the Public Security Department, and the Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Committee for Political and Legal Affairs (concurrently). By the end of the same July, he assumed the position of the Deputy Governor of Sichuan Province and the Director of the Sichuan Provincial Public Security Department.
The official statement claims that Huang Ruixue passed away due to a sudden illness that could not be saved. However, overseas platforms have been circulating rumors that he might have committed suicide.
An account named “Vincent” posted stating, “Huang Ruixue, the Deputy Governor of Sichuan Province and the Director of the Provincial Public Security Department, was found dead in his office due to hanging after returning to Chengdu from a national public security bureau directors’ meeting.”
Netizens commented: “If this is true, the well-protected bigwig needs to take care of his family.” “First there was Ye Hanbing, now there is Huang Ruixue.”
Ye Hanbing is the predecessor of Huang Ruixue, who was removed from office in May 2025.
According to a report by Hong Kong’s “Ming Pao,” the official obituary’s use of “passed away” usually indicates an abnormal death. For example, in recent years, officials such as Ren Xuefeng, Deputy Secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Party Committee, Lia Guoxun, Mayor of Tianjin, Yu Jianhua, Director of the General Administration of Customs, and Zhang Anjiang, Deputy Mayor of Chongqing and concurrently Director of the Public Security Bureau, were all announced to have “passed away.”
Zhang Anjiang, Deputy Mayor of Chongqing and Director of the Public Security Bureau, was officially announced to have passed away due to illness in May this year. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the Communist Party of China announced on June 26 that his representative qualifications naturally ceased, but it was unusual that no condolences were expressed for his death as per convention. There were rumors online that Zhang Anjiang committed suicide by jumping off a building.