On August 14, 2026, Liang Chao, former deputy director of the Standing Committee of the Wenzhou Municipal People’s Congress in Zhejiang Province, turned himself in. Liang Chao was the chief steward during the tenure of Chen Yixin, the Minister of State Security of the Chinese Communist Party, in Wenzhou. In the past year, nearly ten officials in Wenzhou have successively turned themselves in and are under investigation.
According to a report released by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission of the Communist Party of China on August 14, 2026, Liang Chao, former member of the Party committee and deputy director of the Wenzhou Municipal People’s Congress in Zhejiang Province, is suspected of serious violations of discipline and the law. Liang actively turned himself in and is undergoing investigation.
Liang Chao, born in April 1966 in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, graduated from Tongji University with a major in roads and traffic engineering. He has held various positions in Wenzhou since August 1989, including deputy director of the Wenzhou Development Planning Commission, deputy director and deputy secretary of the Party committee of the Ouhai District Development and Construction Management Committee in Wenzhou, member of the standing committee and executive deputy county head of Pingyang County, director and party secretary of the Wenzhou Economic and Information Commission, deputy secretary of the Wenzhou Municipal Committee, director of the municipal committee office, secretary of the Party Working Committee and director of the Management Committee of the Ouhai River Mouth Industrial Agglomeration Zone, and director of the Management Committee of the Wenzhou Marine Economy Development Demonstration Zone. Liang became a member of the Party committee and deputy director of the Standing Committee of the Wenzhou Municipal People’s Congress in December 2022, and resigned in January 2026.
Wenzhou is a prefecture-level city in Zhejiang Province, known as the “Capital of China’s Private Economy.” Many high-ranking officials of the Xijiajun (New Army of the River) under Xi Jinping have served as leaders in Wenzhou. Wenzhou is also the hometown of current Politburo Standing Committee member and Premier of the State Council, Li Keqiang, and Minister of State Security Chen Yixin.
Li Keqiang served as the Party secretary of the Wenzhou Municipal Committee from April 2002 to November 2004. During his tenure, Liang Chao was promoted in February 2003 from the Investment Department of the Wenzhou Development Planning Commission to deputy commander and member of the Party committee of the Wenzhou Peninsula Project Construction Command Headquarters. He was further promoted in March 2004 to deputy director and member of the Party committee of the Wenzhou Development Planning Commission.
Chen Yixin served as the Party secretary of the Wenzhou Municipal Committee from June 2013 to November 2015. During this time, Liang Chao was promoted in May 2014 from executive deputy county head of Pingyang to director and party secretary of the Wenzhou Economic and Information Commission. In August 2015, he was further promoted to deputy secretary of the Wenzhou Municipal Committee and director of the municipal committee office, serving as Chen Yixin’s chief steward.
From August 2015 to May 2020, Liang Chao served as the deputy secretary of the Wenzhou Municipal Committee and director of the municipal committee office for nearly five years, working under four Wenzhou Party secretaries: Chen Yixin, Xu Liyi (from January 2016 to February 2017), Zhou Jiangyong (from February 2017 to May 2018), and Chen Weijun (from May 2018 to June 2021).
Among them, Xu Liyi was relieved of his position as Party secretary of Zhengzhou in January 2022 for dereliction of duty during the “7.20” severe rainstorm disaster in Zhengzhou.
Zhou Jiangyong was removed from the post of Party secretary of Hangzhou in August 2021; in July 2023, he was sentenced to death for corruption, with a two-year reprieve.
Chen Weijun was removed from the position of member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and executive deputy governor of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in November 2025; on June 8, 2026, he was expelled from the Communist Party of China and removed from public office.
According to the report on the official website of the Zhejiang Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, in the past year from August 2025 to present, several officials in Wenzhou have fallen from grace, including:
Liang Chao, former member of the Party committee and deputy director of the Wenzhou Municipal People’s Congress (turned himself in on August 14, 2026);
Wu Ce, member of the Party committee and deputy director of the Natural Resources and Planning Bureau of Wenzhou (turned himself in on July 6, 2026);
Wang Junwei, deputy secretary of the Party committee and deputy general manager of the Wenzhou Transportation Development Group (June 24, 2026);
Xu Linsen, previously the ecological environment protection inspector of the Wenzhou Ecological Environment Bureau (June 9, 2026);
Xu Zhihong, member of the Party committee and deputy director of the Wenzhou Public Security Bureau (turned himself in on June 1, 2026);
Li Wuwen, member of the Party Committee and deputy mayor of Wenzhou (turned himself in on April 24, 2026);
Lin Shinan, former Party secretary and chairman of the Wenzhou Urban Construction Development Group (turned himself in on February 27, 2026);
Lin Jianbo, Party secretary and vice chairman of the Wenzhou Association for Science and Technology (December 23, 2025);
Ye Zhengshe, former Party secretary and chairman of the Wenzhou Transportation Group Co., Ltd. (August 28, 2025).
Furthermore, on March 15, 2025, Tang Xiaoshu, deputy head of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Education, voluntarily turned himself in. Tang, a native of Wenzhou, had long served in Wenzhou and had worked under Li Keqiang, Chen Yixin, and other important figures during their rule in Wenzhou.
Yi Huiman, former chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, was investigated on September 6, 2025, and Fang Xinghai, former vice chairman, on July 24, 2026. Both individuals are from Wenzhou. Yi Huiman hails from Cangnan County, Wenzhou, while Fang Xinghai is from Yueqing City, a subprefecture under Wenzhou.