According to a report by the Chinese financial media Caixin, Wang Hao, deputy director of the National Financial Supervision Administration (NFSAA), was reported to have “died suddenly at home” recently. Sources claimed that Wang Hao may have taken his own life due to personal investment failures, leading to speculation from the public. However, the report was later deleted for unknown reasons.
On July 17th, mainland Chinese financial news site Caixin published an article titled “Deputy Director of the NFSAA Statistics Department, Wang Hao, Passes Away Suddenly at the Age of 42”.
The report stated that Wang Hao, born in 1984 in Liaocheng, Shandong province, graduated from Shandong University and was the youngest deputy bureau-level official at the NFSAA. Wang Hao had previously held positions such as Deputy Director and Director of the Financial Accounting Department (Solvency Supervision Department) of the former CBIRC. A year ago, he was promoted to Deputy Director of the NFSAA’s Statistics and Risk Monitoring Department.
A person familiar with Wang Hao remarked, “We were shocked to hear the news of his sudden passing today. He was too young, and he had a young son and daughter at home.” “Some mentioned that it might be due to some personal investment failures, but the real reasons behind it may be hard for outsiders to know.”
According to an obituary released by the organizers of the farewell ceremony, Wang Hao “passed away unfortunately in Beijing” on July 17th at the age of 42. The funeral service is scheduled to be held at the Babaoshan Funeral Home on the 24th.
The report has since disappeared from Caixin’s website, but the title can still be found on Google search results. The reason for the deletion of the report remains unclear.
On an overseas platform X, some netizens speculated that, based on the statement of an insider quoted by Caixin, Wang Hao might have committed suicide. “Can people in these positions fail in investments? Even if it was a failure, they should come up with a decent reason.” “The power struggle is fierce!” “Is it related to recent financial events? Officials are expendable.”
The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) is responsible for regulating the securities industry, while the NFSAA oversees financial industries other than securities. Officials of financial regulatory bodies have access to firsthand industry information.
Recently, several senior officials in Chinese finance have been investigated. In late March this year, Deputy Director of the NFSAA, Zhou Liang, was officially removed from office. Zhou Liang had served as Secretary to former Central Commission for Discipline Inspection Wang Qishan for a long time.
In April of this year, the NFSAA website removed the information of Director Li Yunze, with reports suggesting that Li Yunze had been demoted. Li Yunze joined China Construction Bank in 1993, at a time when Wang Qishan was in charge of the bank.
It is noteworthy that Li Yunze is from Yantai, Shandong, and the recently deceased Wang Hao was also from Shandong.