The 20th Third Plenary Session of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is set to be held in July this year, but leading up to it, the political landscape within the CCP has been tumultuous with numerous officials facing investigations and undergoing job reshuffles. On May 31st alone, a total of 14 officials were either expelled from the party, dismissed from their positions, or placed under investigation or trial.
In a notice issued on May 31st, the State Council of China announced the dismissal of vice director Xu Jie of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration. Six days earlier, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection stated that Xu Jie, a member of the party committee and vice director of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, was under investigation for “serious violations of discipline and the law”.
On the same day, 13 other officials also faced disciplinary actions.
At the meeting of the 16th Beijing Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee, Gao Peng was removed from his position as Beijing’s vice mayor. Gao Peng was placed under investigation on April 21st, becoming the first vice-ministerial level official in Beijing to fall from grace since the 20th CCP National Congress.
Zhou Longhua, former member of the Standing Committee and former head of the United Front Work Department of Fengxian District Committee in Shanghai, was expelled from the party and dismissed from public office. Zhou Longhua was accused of resisting inspection, failing to report personal matters as required, accepting gifts improperly, using his power for personal gain for relatives’ business interests, interfering in judicial activities, violating lifestyle discipline, using his position for personal gain and accepting large amounts of illegal property from others.
Sun Can, Secretary-General of the Yunnan Provincial Government, member of the party committee, and secretary of the General Office, was under investigation for “serious violations of discipline and the law”.
Miao Jianhua, former member of the party committee of the Health Commission of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, had his party membership revoked and retirement benefits cancelled. Miao Jianhua was accused of accepting gifts, improper entertainment, false reporting of matters, pursuing personal gain through business ventures, abuse of power, interference in project operations, trading power for money, and illegally accepting significant amounts of property from others.
Wang Xuefeng, former member of the Standing Committee of the Hebei Provincial People’s Congress, and vice chairman, faced trial for bribery and using his influence to accept bribes. Wang Xuefeng was accused of directly or indirectly accepting a total of over 84.07 million yuan in illegal payments and using his retired position and influence for personal gain, obtaining over 4.11 million yuan in ill-gotten gains through other officials.
Han Guoqiang, member of the party committee and deputy director of the Development and Reform Commission of Guangxi, was under investigation for “serious violations of discipline and the law”.
Huang Mingxiang, former chief of the Guangdong branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, had his party membership revoked and illicit gains confiscated. Huang Mingxiang was accused of political deviation, reading, storing, and collecting politically sensitive electronic materials, wavering in belief, accepting gifts that could influence the performance of official duties, using his position to benefit others in employment decisions, allowing family members to profit from investments, using power for personal gain, and illegally accepting significant amounts of property from others.
Luo Qun, former deputy director of the Nanjing Municipal People’s Congress, Lan Dahuang, deputy director of the Chongzuo Municipal People’s Congress in Guangxi, Li Min, former deputy director of the Huizhou Municipal People’s Congress in Guangdong, Xu Fengyi, former second-level inspector of the Customs in Shijiazhuang, and Sui Yonghua, former party secretary of the Weihai Technician College, were all under investigation. Lin Xuwen, former deputy director of the Anhui Coal Geological Bureau, was expelled from the party.
In addition to the 14 officials processed on May 31st, since May 16th, several central government officials have been under investigation while in office, including Tang Renjian, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and Gou Zhongwen, former head of the General Administration of Sport of China, both holding ministerial ranks. Four others, Lou Wenlong, former vice president of China Agricultural Bank, Wang Hao, vice chairman of the Jiangsu Provincial Political Consultative Conference, Liu Xingtai, deputy secretary and deputy director of the Hainan Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee, and Xu Jie, vice director of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration have also been under scrutiny.
On another note, Sun Zhigang, former Party Secretary of Guizhou Province, was indicted on May 22nd. Jiao Xiaoping, former member of the Party Committee and deputy commander of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, went on trial on May 17th for corruption.
A former official within the Chinese Communist Party system, Du Wen, recently posted on a platform mentioning that ahead of the Third Plenary Session, the CCP has intensified its anti-corruption campaign by creating an atmosphere of political repression to suppress internal dissent.
On May 31st, Zhang Zhenfeng, Secretary of the Wenzhou Municipal Committee of the CCP, was appointed as the Deputy Governor of Zhejiang Province.
Additionally on the same day, Tan Weiguo, Secretary of the Huainan Municipal Committee of the CCP in Anhui Province, was appointed as the Deputy Governor of Anhui Province; Li Zhong, Secretary of the Xuanzhou Municipal Committee and first secretary of the Military Division Committee in Xuanzhou City, Anhui Province, was appointed as the Deputy Governor of Anhui Province. Zhao Ming was appointed as the Director of the Science and Technology Department of Anhui Province, Cha Wenbiao as the Director of the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Department of Anhui Province, and Sun Donghai as the Director of the Commerce Department of Anhui Province.
On the 30th, the State Council of China appointed Wang Baoen as the Deputy Minister of Water Resources and Cao Jun as the Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs. The Standing Committee of the Gansu Provincial People’s Congress appointed Wang Jun, Secretary of the Jingchang Municipal Committee, as the Deputy Governor of Gansu Province.
On the 30th, the Standing Committee of the Jiangxi Provincial People’s Congress appointed Wang Guangming, Mayor of Nanchang, as the Deputy Governor of Jiangxi Province. Wang Guangming has had a career in the science and technology sector, previously serving as the Director of the Provincial Science and Technology Department.
On the 29th, the Standing Committee of the Hubei Provincial People’s Congress appointed Cheng Yongwen, Mayor of Wuhan, as the Deputy Governor of Hubei Province. Cheng Yongwen previously served as the Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Government and Director of the Provincial Development and Reform Commission.
On the 27th, the State Council of China appointed Hua Chunying, spokesperson of the CCP, as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. In recent days at the Foreign Ministry, former spokesperson Lu Kang, after stepping down as Ambassador to Indonesia, has been promoted to the Deputy Minister of the United Front Work Department; Wang Wenbin stepped down as the Foreign Ministry spokesperson and is reportedly set to become the Ambassador to Cambodia.
On the 6th, Zhang Qixiang, Mayor of Harbin, was appointed as the Deputy Governor of Heilongjiang Province. There were previous rumors of Zhang Qixiang being investigated for possible corruption.