China Longjiang Forest Industry Group (Longjiang Forest Group) former party secretary and chairman Li Kun was placed under investigation on September 14, 2026. Li Kun’s partner, former Yichun City Party Secretary Gao Huan, was also investigated four weeks ago. Over the past year, several executives from Longjiang Forest Group have been investigated, including chief accountant Wang Lintian, former vice president Zhang Xiaobo, and Ma Chunping.
On September 14, 2026, according to a report from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission on the Heilongjiang Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, Li Kun, the former party secretary and chairman of China Longjiang Forest Industry Group Co., Ltd. (Longjiang Forest Group), is suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and is undergoing investigation.
Li Kun, born in April 1963 in Lanxi County, Suihua City, Heilongjiang Province, graduated from Qiqihar Forestry School with a major in forestry operations. He has held various positions in the forestry system of Heilongjiang Province, including Deputy Director of the Office of the Forestry Department, Director of the Policy and Regulations Department of the Forestry Department, Deputy Director and Director of the Provincial Government Research Office, Director and Party Secretary of the Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce, Deputy Secretary-General (deputy department level) of the provincial Party committee, Deputy Secretary and Mayor of Yichun City, Director of Yichun Forestry Bureau, Party Secretary of the Heilongjiang Forestry Industrial Bureau (China Longjiang Forest Group headquarters), and Chairman of China Longjiang Forest Industry Group Co., Ltd. He also served as the Executive Deputy Minister of the Propaganda Department of the Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee in January 2019 and as the Deputy Director of the Cultural, Historical, and Learning Committee of the 13th CPPCC Heilongjiang Provincial Committee in January 2023.
Li Kun assumed the position of Party Secretary of the Heilongjiang Provincial Forestry Industry Bureau (China Longjiang Forest Group Headquarters) in July 2016 and concurrently served as Chairman of China Longjiang Forest Industry Group Co., Ltd. from June 2018 to December 2018.
China Longjiang Forest Industry Group Co., Ltd. was reorganized from the original China Longjiang Forest Industry (Group) Corporation (Heilongjiang Forestry Industry Bureau) on June 30, 2018. The company, known as Longjiang Forest Group, is a large state-owned enterprise directly under the Heilongjiang provincial government, mainly engaged in the development and construction of state-owned key forest areas.
Just a week ago, on September 7, 2026, Wang Lintian, member of the Party Committee and Chief Accountant of Longjiang Forest Group Co., Ltd., was officially announced to be under investigation. Wang Lintian has been a long-term senior executive at Longjiang Forest Group, responsible for financial management and accounting supervision.
Furthermore, on June 16, 2026, Jiang Hongwei, Deputy Secretary of the Heilongjiang Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Deputy Director of the Provincial Supervisory Commission, was also investigated during his tenure. Jiang Hongwei, born in January 1968 in Wuchang, Heilongjiang, worked for 25 years from 1990 to 2015 in the Heilongjiang Provincial Forestry Industry Bureau. He held positions such as Member of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Organization Department of the provincial Forestry Industry Bureau (Longjiang Forest Group), among others.
On April 9, 2026, Ma Chunping, former Vice President of Longjiang Forest Group, was placed under investigation. Ma Chunping previously served as Director of Dahailin Forestry Bureau and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Heilongjiang Forestry Industry Bureau; in 2017, he was publicly nominated for the position of Deputy Director (Vice President) of the Heilongjiang Forestry Industry Bureau (Longjiang Forest Group), and was later formally appointed to the position.
On April 28, 2025, Zhang Xiaobo, former Vice President of Longjiang Forest Group, was investigated. Zhang Xiaobo took office as Vice President of Longjiang Forest Group on June 29, 2018; in January 2022, she became a director of Longjiang Forest Group.
Zhang Xiaobo, Ma Chunping, and Wang Lintian, who were investigated successively, were all subordinates of Li Kun during his tenure as Party Secretary and Chairman of Longjiang Forest Group.
Li Kun served as Deputy Secretary, Mayor, and Party Secretary of Yichun City in Heilongjiang Province from April 2015 to July 2016.
Just four weeks ago, on August 17, 2026, Gao Huan, a senior official in Heilongjiang Province and Deputy Director of the Ethnic and Religious Committee of the Provincial CPPCC, was also under investigation. Gao Huan had a long tenure in Yichun City administration.
Gao Huan, born in January 1965 in Nehe, Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province, graduated with a major in forestry economic management from Northeast Forestry University. She previously worked at Northeast Forestry University and held positions such as Deputy Secretary and Secretary of the Heilongjiang Communist Youth League Provincial Committee, Deputy Secretary of the Qiqihar Municipal Party Committee, and Secretary of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection. In June 2011, she was transferred to Yichun City as Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Forestry Bureau; in July, she became the Mayor of Yichun City, while simultaneously serving as the Director of the Forestry Bureau. In April 2015, Gao Huan was promoted to the Party Secretary of Yichun City. In December 2018, she moved to the Executive Deputy Director of the United Front Work Department of the Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee and, in January 2023, served as the Deputy Director of the Ethnic and Religious Committee of the Heilongjiang Provincial CPPCC until the recent investigation.
During Gao Huan’s tenure as Party Secretary of Yichun City, Li Kun served as the Mayor, and the two worked together for about 15 months.
Public information shows that Yichun is a prefecture-level city in Heilongjiang Province and is China’s key state-owned forest area and the largest forest city. With a total area of 32,800.29 square kilometers, the forest coverage rate exceeds 83%. Yichun is home to the world’s largest virgin red pine forest, known as the “natural oxygen bar” and referred to as the “capital of forests” and “hometown of red pines.”
Heilongjiang Province is an important forestry province in China, with the highest accumulation of timber among all provinces and being the most crucial forestry base in the country. The province boasts natural forest areas like the Greater Khingan and Lesser Khingan Mountains and was once the largest timber production base in China.
Numerous forestry officials in Heilongjiang Province have been under investigation as of 2026.
On June 23, 2026, Liu Peng, former second-level inspector of the People’s Congress Standing Committee of Yichun City, Heilongjiang Province, was investigated. Liu Peng had held positions such as Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, District Mayor, and Director of the Forestry Bureau of Nancha District, Yichun City, and Deputy Secretary and Director of the South Chahe Timber Hydrolysis Plant.
On June 15, 2026, Yang Fan, Deputy County Mayor and member of the Standing Committee of the Tahe County Committee in Greater Khingan Mountains, Heilongjiang Province, was placed under investigation. Yang Fan previously served as Secretary of the Party Committee of Hanjiayuan Forestry Bureau of Greater Khingan Mountains, Heilongjiang, and Deputy Secretary of the Information Center.
On June 15, 2026, Shen Yong, former Party Secretary and Director of the Development and Reform Commission of Yichun City, Heilongjiang Province, was also under investigation. Shen Yong had held positions such as Party Secretary of Tieli Forestry Bureau, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Forestry Bureau in Nancha District (Bureau), and Party Secretary, Chairman, and General Manager of the South Chahe Forestry Bureau Limited Liability Company in Yichun City.
On April 16, 2026, Li Jun, former Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and General Manager of the Daxing’anling Forestry Group Company of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration of the CPC, was under investigation. Li Jun became Deputy Director of the Daxing’anling Forestry Administration in November 2016 and held the position of Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and General Manager of the Daxing’anling Forestry Group Company in March 2020.