On November 10, 2026, it was announced that Yu Jinfu, the Deputy Secretary of the Yangjiang Municipal Committee and the Mayor, is now under investigation. This development raises significant concerns, especially considering that during his tenure in Huizhou and Yangjiang, several officials who previously worked alongside him or succeeded him in their respective positions have been implicated in corruption scandals.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China, along with the State Supervision Commission, disclosed on November 10 that Yu Jinfu is suspected of serious violations of discipline and the law, and he is currently undergoing a disciplinary review and supervisory investigation by the Guangdong Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection. However, the announcement did not provide details regarding the specific allegations against him.
According to information from the Yangjiang Municipal Government’s official website, just one day prior to the announcement, on November 9, Yu Jinfu was still conducting research activities in Yangchun City.
Yu Jinfu was born in May 1972 and began studying English at Guangzhou Foreign Language College in September 1990. He graduated in July 1994 and subsequently joined the Guangdong Provincial Foreign Economic and Trade Commission, working as a clerk in the Import and Export Management Department.
Over the next more than ten years, he held various positions in the Import and Export Management Department, the Office of the Provincial Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, and the Foreign Exchange Department, gradually advancing from an ordinary staff member to a leadership role at the department level.
In February 2014, Yu Jinfu was appointed as the Director of the Investment Promotion and Foreign Economic Cooperation Department of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Commerce. Three months later, he rose to the position of a member of the Party group of the Provincial Department of Commerce and Director of the Fair Trade Bureau, elevating him to the ranks of deputy department-level officials.
In October 2016, at the age of 44, Yu Jinfu departed from the provincial business system, where he had worked for over twenty years, and took on the role of Vice Mayor of Huizhou City, officially entering the leadership team of a prefecture-level city. By October 2021, he became the Deputy Secretary of the Yangjiang Municipal Committee, Vice Mayor, and Acting Mayor; he was formally elected as Mayor in November of the same year. By the time of this investigation, he had held his position in Yangjiang for nearly five years.
It is noteworthy that during Yu Jinfu’s tenure in Huizhou, a number of local officials he worked with were later implicated in corruption. According to Caixin reports, between 2016 and 2021, he served as the Vice Mayor, a member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee, and the Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee in Huizhou. During this time, the Municipal Secretary Chen Yiwei, Mayor Mai Jiaomeng, and Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee Li Min were all subjected to investigations due to severe disciplinary violations.
Among these instances, while Chen Yiwei held the position of Huizhou Municipal Party Secretary, at least seven out of the ten members of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee from that same cohort were removed from their positions. Although Yu Jinfu served in the same leadership team, there is currently no evidence implicating him in these related cases.
Moreover, prior to Yu Jinfu taking over as Mayor of Yangjiang in 2021, the former Municipal Party Secretary Jiao Lansheng had also been investigated for misconduct.