On July 17, 2026, Wang Qiang, former member of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee and Minister of the United Front Work Department, turned himself in. This development comes shortly after his predecessor, Du Ling, former Minister of the United Front Work Department in Shenzhen, was investigated half a month ago. There are reports indicating that both individuals are linked to the Ma Xingrui case.
Following the downfall of Ma Xingrui, a member of the CCP Politburo, four former associates from Shenzhen have been successively investigated. Among them are Guo Yonghang, a deputy-ministerial level official and Vice Chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, as well as Dai Beifang, former Chairman of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
On July 17, 2026, the Guangdong Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision announced that Wang Qiang, former member of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee and Minister of the United Front Work Department, is suspected of serious violations of discipline and the law. He voluntarily turned himself in and is cooperating with the investigation.
In May 2026, just two months prior, Wang Qiang attended a city-wide publicity work meeting within the united front system of Shenzhen with the title of “Member of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee and Minister of the United Front Work Department.”
Reports from the Hong Kong-based newspaper “Ming Pao” on July 18, 2026, suggest that rumors of Wang Qiang’s involvement in the Ma Xingrui case have been circulating in Shenzhen for some time, stemming from Ma Xingrui, who had previously served as Secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee.
During Ma Xingrui’s tenure as the Secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee from March 2015 to December 2016, Wang Qiang was appointed as Deputy Secretary of the Nanshan District Committee and District Mayor in August 2015, having previously served as Deputy Secretary and District Mayor of the Futian District Committee.
Wang Qiang, born in October 1965 in Dongyang, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, holds a bachelor’s degree in law from Jiangxi University and a master’s degree in civil law from the Zhongnan University of Economics and Law. Over the years, he has held various positions in Shenzhen, including Deputy Chairman of the Shenzhen General Federation of Trade Unions, Secretary of the Propaganda Department of Futian District, Mayor of Futian District, and Secretary of the Nan Shan District Committee. He assumed the position of Minister of the Propaganda Department of Shenzhen in July 2020 and became Minister of the United Front Work Department in October 2021 until his recent surrender.
Wang Qiang’s predecessor, Du Ling, former Minister of the United Front Work Department of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee, was officially investigated on July 2, 2026, also suspected of involvement in the Ma Xingrui case, according to mainland financial news reports.
During her tenure as Deputy Secretary and Executive Deputy District Mayor of the Futian District Committee from September 2006 to March 2009, Wang Qiang served as a Deputy Secretary and Director of the Propaganda Department of the Futian District Committee. The two worked together for two and a half years in the Futian District Committee.
While Ma Xingrui was serving as Secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee, Du Ling was promoted from Deputy Secretary and District Mayor of the Yantian District Committee to Secretary of the Yantian District Committee in August 2015. Public reports indicate that Ma Xingrui had conducted several investigations in the Yantian District, accompanied by Du Ling.
Du Ling, who became the first female district mayor in Shenzhen after her appointment as District Mayor of the Yantian District in 2009, and later the first female District Secretary in Shenzhen upon assuming the position in 2015, has played significant roles within the Shenzhen Municipal Committee over the years. Her career progression led her to become a member of the Party committee of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions in Guangdong Province in April 2021.
Following Ma Xingrui’s removal from his position as Secretary of the Party Committee of Xinjiang in July 2025 and his subsequent fall from grace on April 3, 2026, several former associates from Guangdong and Xinjiang were investigated. This included Guo Yonghang, Vice Chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, who was taken down on March 27, 2026, and Dai Beifang, former Chairman of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, who was investigated on December 15, 2025.
On June 26, 2026, both Ma Xingrui and Guo Yonghang were simultaneously removed as National People’s Congress delegates. Guo Yonghang, who hails from Shandong like Ma Xingrui, was a key figure during Ma Xingrui’s leadership in Shenzhen. Dai Beifang, another former associate of Ma Xingrui, held various positions within the Shenzhen Municipal Committee, including Secretary, Secretary-General, Director of the Office of the Municipal Committee, Secretary of the Organization Department, Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Committee, and Chairman of the Municipal Committee of the CPPCC.
Du Ling, Guo Yonghang, and Dai Beifang have a long history of interaction within the Shenzhen official circles and had all successively served as Secretary of the Yantian District Committee in Shenzhen. Guo Yonghang held this position from June 2010 to May 2015, during which time Du Ling was the District Mayor, working together for five years. In May 2015, Guo Yonghang was promoted to Member of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee and Secretary-General, serving as Ma Xingrui’s key assistant, while Du Ling succeeded him as Secretary of the Yantian District Committee.
On July 14, 2026, Ma Xingrui was expelled from the CCP and dismissed from public office. The official report mentioned Ma Xingrui’s complicity in allowing relatives to take advantage of his position for personal gain and fostering family corruption, aligning with previous rumors circulating about him.
After Ma Xingrui’s downfall, mainland financial news revealed on July 16, 2026, that shortly following his detention, around May 2026, Hu Donghai, former Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Citi Property, a real estate entity under the CITIC Group, was also taken in for investigation. Behind Hu Donghai lurked the mysterious real estate tycoon Wang Zhanjiang and his “Huasheng Group,” which had intricate ties to political and business transactions, hinting at the involvement of Ma Xingrui’s younger brother, Ma Xingquan. It was reported that this connection provided a critical clue leading to the confirmation of Ma Xingrui’s economic problems.
Ma Xingrui, born in October 1959 in Yuncheng County, Heze City, Shandong Province, and raised in a miner’s family in Shuangyashan City, Heilongjiang Province.
Following his removal from the position as Secretary of the Xinjiang Party Committee in July 2025, political analysts reported in Taiwan’s “Up Media” on July 27, 2025, attributing Ma Xingrui’s issues to his time in Guangdong. Speculations circulated in local circles, suggesting that after the detention of Xu Jiayin, Chairman of Evergrande, in September 2023, he provided authorities with a list of high-ranking officials involved, including Ma Xingrui.
On November 4, 2015, during his tenure as Deputy Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee, Ma Xingrui met with Xu Jiayin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Evergrande. It was reported that with Ma Xingrui’s support, Evergrande quietly relocated its headquarters from Guangzhou to Shenzhen over the following year, with Xu Jiayin allegedly conveying substantial benefits to his “patron” Ma Xingrui.