Former mayor of Chongqing, Huang Qifan, was taken down from his position on October 13, sparking various speculations about the reasons behind his fall from grace. A recent post by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission of the Communist Party of China on October 17 stated, “As long as corruption is involved, there is no way out and no so-called safe landing.” However, analysts believe that corruption is rampant within the Communist Party, and Xi Jinping is simply using the charge of corruption to purge political dissidents.
In the article published on the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission on October 17, it was mentioned that “two former central disciplinary officials have been announced to be under investigation or expelled from the party in the past week.” The article claimed that this sends a strong signal that there are no forbidden zones in fighting corruption and warned, “Regardless of rank, contribution, retirement, as long as corruption is involved, there is no way out and no so-called safe landing.”
This week, Huang Qifan, the former mayor of Chongqing, was officially announced to be under investigation on October 13, while Bao Hui, the former Party Secretary of the Standing Committee of the Chengdu Municipal People’s Congress of Sichuan Province, was expelled from the Communist Party on October 14.
The 74-year-old Huang Qifan is a controversial figure who rose in the political scene in Shanghai early in his career and served in Chongqing for about 15 years. He worked with six party secretaries during his tenure and remained steadfast despite the turmoil caused by the downfall of two party secretaries, Bo Xilai and Sun Zhengcai. After retiring, he became known as an internet-famous economist, giving speeches across the country, and his sudden fall from grace has sparked various speculations.
According to rumors circulating, some believe that Huang Qifan, despite being retired for many years, is still seen as the “legacy” of the cases of Bo Xilai and Sun Zhengcai. Others point to allegations of family corruption, especially involving his son’s lavish accumulation of wealth. There are even online rumors suggesting that Huang Qifan has a love child with a female lawyer named Peng Jing, but this has not been confirmed.
In a report by Caixin, it was stated that during Huang Qifan’s tenure as the leader of Chongqing’s economy, he vigorously promoted the “Chongqing Model” and led numerous economic and reform initiatives. Huang Qifan’s downfall is linked to issues exposed in the mixed-ownership reform of state-owned enterprises in Chongqing that he was involved in.
However, multiple observers believe that Huang Qifan may be implicated in “retreating but not retiring” and trouble arising from his outspokenness.
In recent years, Huang Qifan has served as the Vice-Chairman of the China International Economic Exchange Center and the Chairman of the Industry Transformation Advisory Committee at Tsinghua University, giving speeches across the country and becoming a popular economist figure on the internet.
Veteran media figure Ji Shuoming, who has interviewed Huang Qifan several times, told Ming Pao, “After stepping down, Huang Qifan was too high-profile, turning into an internet-famous high-ranking official, giving speeches everywhere, which is a major taboo in the political arena.”
Legal scholar Yuan Hongbing in Australia told Epoch Times that mainly after retiring, Huang Qifan thought he was safe. According to insiders within the Communist Party system, the main reason for Huang Qifan’s downfall was because his series of comments on the Chinese economy over the years directly contradicted Xi Jinping’s current economic ideology.
Based on public reports in mainland Chinese media, Huang Qifan’s several economic-related statements have been deemed sensitive.
On May 14, 2022, at the Tsinghua Wudaokou Financial Forum, Huang Qifan proposed reducing intervention in the renminbi exchange rate, strengthening the financial system, promoting the establishment of a rule-of-law modern enterprise system, optimizing resource allocation through market economy, ensuring reasonable secondary distribution for the people, among his six suggestions. This clashed with the ongoing economic policies implemented by the authorities to enhance government control. Shortly after the forum, on May 16, 2022, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party issued a document prohibiting retired cadres from “recklessly discussing the party’s central policies.”
Yuan Hongbing, the Australian scholar, told Epoch Times that Huang Qifan’s corruption issue is insignificant, as corruption is the normal way of life for all Communist Party officials. Xi Jinping is simply using the charge of corruption to purge political dissidents. Even for an official who has been retired for over a decade, “as long as you still have residual influence in some areas, Xi Jinping believes you are not absolutely loyal to him, and you will be purged.”