On October 13, 2026, Huang Qifan, a retired former mayor of Chongqing who is 74 years old, was officially announced to be under investigation. Huang had served in both Shanghai and Chongqing for many years, crossing paths with over ten high-ranking officials in the Chinese Communist Party. Those officials include fallen political bureau members like Chen Liangyu, Bo Xilai, Sun Zhengcai, as well as former members of the political bureau like He Guoqiang, Wang Yang, Zhang Dejiang, and Han Zheng, retired vice-ministers like Chen Zhili and Meng Jianzhu, and current political bureau members like Chen Min’er and Zhang Guoqing.
Huang Qifan had been working at Tsinghua University since 2019, with secret connections to former political bureau member Chen Xi and current political bureau member Chen Jining. Before Huang’s downfall was made public, there were reports from independent media speculating that his case might implicate former member Li Zhanshu and even involve current member Ding Xuexiang.
As the Fifth Plenum of the Chinese Communist Party approaches and power struggles at the top escalate around personnel changes related to the 21st Party Congress, the downfall of the once-known “political survivor” Huang Qifan raises questions about the future career paths of various high-ranking officials.
During his 33-year tenure in Shanghai from 1968 to 2001, Huang Qifan held various positions such as deputy secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee and deputy secretary of the municipal government. Among his living national-level old leaders include six individuals, such as the former mayor of Shanghai Xu Kuangdi, as well as former deputy secretaries of the Shanghai Municipal Committee like Chen Zhili, Chen Liangyu, Meng Jianzhu, former deputy mayor of Shanghai Han Zheng, and former deputy mayor Yan Junqi.
Of these six individuals, Chen Liangyu fell from grace in September 2006 during his tenure as a political bureau member and Shanghai Municipal Committee Secretary, receiving an 18-year prison sentence in April 2008.
Han Zheng rose to become a national-level political bureau standing committee member and executive vice premier after the 19th Party Congress, and later became Vice Chairman of the country following the 20th Congress. Han Zheng and Huang Qifan, both from Zhejiang, served together in Shanghai as deputy secretaries of the municipal government from 1995 to 1998.
Xu Kuangdi served as Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference from March 2003 to March 2008. Chen Zhili served as a Vice Minister at the national level and Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress from March 2003 to March 2012. Meng Jianzhu concurrently held the position of Vice Minister at the national level and Minister of Public Security from March 2008 to October 2017, as well as a political bureau member and secretary of the Political and Legislative Affairs Committee. Yan Junqi served as Vice Chairman of the National People’s Congress from March 2008 to March 2013.
From 2001 to 2016, Huang Qifan served as Deputy Mayor, Executive Deputy Mayor, and Mayor of Chongqing for a total of 15 years, working under six Chongqing Municipal Committee secretaries including He Guoqiang, Huang Zhendong, Wang Yang, Bo Xilai, Zhang Dejiang, and Sun Zhengcai.
Among them, Bo Xilai was expelled in April 2012 during his time as a political bureau member and Chongqing Municipal Committee Secretary and was sentenced to life imprisonment in October 2013. Sun Zhengcai fell from grace in July 2017 while serving as a political bureau member and Chongqing Municipal Committee Secretary and was sentenced to life imprisonment in May 2018.
He Guoqiang, Wang Yang, and Zhang Dejiang all later rose to become members of the permanent political bureau standing committee. He Guoqiang was a member of the 17th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Wang Yang became a member of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party and Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Zhang Dejiang was a member of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party and Chairman of the National People’s Congress.
Additionally, during Huang Qifan’s tenure as Deputy Secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee and Mayor of Chongqing, Zhang Guoqing was transferred from the General Manager of the Weapon Industry Corporation to Deputy Secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee in April 2013, and then succeeded Huang Qifan as Mayor of Chongqing in December 2016, after working alongside Huang Qifan in Chongqing for three years and eight months. Zhang Guoqing is now a member of the 20th Central Committee’s Political Bureau and Vice Premier of the State Council.
After stepping down as Mayor of Chongqing in December 2016, Huang Qifan became Vice Chairman of the Financial and Economic Committee of the National People’s Congress in February 2017. Following the 19th Party Congress, in January 2018, Huang Qifan was unexpectedly demoted to an ordinary member of the 5th CPPCC of Chongqing, with no leadership role. Subsequently, Huang Qifan was unsuccessful in being elected as a CPPCC member or a National People’s Congress deputy. In January 2023, during the CPPCC transition in Chongqing, Huang Qifan’s name was absent from the list of the 6th CPPCC members.
During Huang Qifan’s tenure as a CPPCC member in Chongqing, Chen Min’er served as the Secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee from July 2017 to December 2022, overlapping for five years. Chen Min’er was promoted to Deputy National Political Bureau member in October 2017 and re-elected as a Political Bureau member at the 20th Party Congress in October 2022, before being appointed as Party Secretary of Tianjin in December of the same year.
It is worth noting that Huang Qifan and Chen Min’er are also fellow natives of Zhuji, Zhejiang. Huang Qifan had a long career as Vice Mayor and Mayor of Chongqing, specializing in economic affairs, which could potentially lead to an advisory role during Chen Min’er’s leadership in Chongqing. This also implies that Chen Min’er may be implicated in Huang Qifan’s business-political network in Chongqing.
After stepping down as Mayor of Chongqing, Huang Qifan started working as the Chairman of the Industry Transformation Advisory Committee at Tsinghua University’s Internet Industry Research Institute in 2019. At that time, Chen Xu was the Secretary of the Tsinghua University Party Committee, and Qiu Yong was the President of Tsinghua University. Over the past seven years, Huang Qifan has attended numerous expert forums and academic conferences at Tsinghua University.
Following the downfall of Bo Xilai and Sun Zhengcai, Huang Qifan became a politically sensitive figure. It is believed that Huang Qifan’s appointment at Tsinghua University was not simply the decision of the university’s Party Secretary and President, and that there were higher-level figures guiding it.
Chen Xu currently serves as Deputy Minister of the Central United Front Work Department, while Qiu Yong is the Secretary of the Tsinghua University Party Committee. Both of them are former classmates or colleagues of the prominent members of the “Tsinghua Gang,” including Chen Xi and Chen Jining.
During Chen Xi’s tenure as Secretary of the Tsinghua University Party Committee from February 2002 to December 2008, Chen Xu served as Deputy Secretary of the Tsinghua University Party Committee from February 2006 and then as a member of the Standing Committee and Vice President of the university from December 2007. Qiu Yong served as head of the Chemistry Department at Tsinghua University in March 2002, and was later appointed as Deputy Dean of the School of Science in January 2008.
Between February 2012 and March 2015, when Chen Jining served as President of Tsinghua University, Chen Xu was promoted from Executive Vice Secretary of the Party Committee to Secretary in December 2013. Subsequently, Qiu Yong succeeded Chen Xu in December 2014, moving from Vice President to Executive Vice Secretary, and then became President of Tsinghua University in March 2015, following Chen Jining.
Chen Xi was a classmate of the current Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping during their time at Tsinghua University and served as Xi’s personnel manager after the 18th Party Congress. After the 20th Party Congress, Chen Xi’s departure was postponed until April 2023, when he relinquished his position as Minister of the Organization Department and Director of the Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party.
Upon Chen Xi’s recent departure, various independent media critics have reported that Chen Xi may be connected to the case of his old acquaintance from Fujian and the Chairman of the Beijing Municipal People’s Political Consultative Conference, Wei Xiaodong, leading to a demotion in rank.
Chen Jining, a former associate of Chen Xi, was promoted by Chen Xi after the 18th Party Congress. In October 2022, Chen Jining was elevated to the Political Bureau during the 20th Party Congress, and subsequently became Party Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee.
Additionally, there have been speculations and analyses regarding the internal dynamics and implications of Huang Qifan’s downfall and its potential influence on the careers and futures of high-ranking officials, especially leading candidates for the next Political Bureau at the upcoming Party Congress, such as Ding Xuexiang, Chen Min’er, Chen Jining, and Zhang Guoqing. Further attention is warranted to monitor the unfolding situation.
(Originally published on October 14, 2026, by Epoch Times)