In 2026 so far, several senior officials in Tianjin have been investigated, including Deng Quanjun, Vice Director of the Tianjin Municipal Health Commission, former Director of the Tianjin Municipal Urban Utilities Management Bureau Zhai Jiachang, and former Secretary of the Jizhou District Committee He Yinong. They were all promoted during Li Hongzhong’s tenure as the Party Secretary of Tianjin.
On April 27, 2026, the official website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission of the Communist Party of China reported that Zhai Jiachang, former Party Secretary and Director of the Tianjin Municipal Urban Utilities Management Bureau, is suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and is under investigation.
Zhai Jiachang, born in May 1962 in Tianjin, previously served as the Chief Engineer of the Tianjin Municipal Commission of Urban and Rural Construction and Transportation, as well as a member and deputy director of the Party Committee of the Tianjin Municipal Commission of Urban and Rural Construction.
During Li Hongzhong’s tenure as the Party Secretary of Tianjin from September 2016 to December 2022, Zhai Jiachang was promoted to the first Party Secretary and Director of the Tianjin Municipal Urban Utilities Management Bureau in November 2018. He also served as a member of the Party Committee of the Tianjin Municipal Urban Management Commission.
According to the Tianjin municipal government website, the Tianjin Municipal Urban Utilities Management Bureau, established in November 2018, is a municipal government department managed by the Tianjin Municipal Urban Management Commission and is at the deputy bureau level. It is responsible for the supervision and management of the operation of heating, gas, roads, and other facilities in Tianjin.
The Tianjin Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection’s website shows that several senior officials in Tianjin have been investigated in 2026.
On April 14, 2026, He Yinong, Deputy Director of the Agricultural and Rural Committee of the Tianjin People’s Congress, was investigated. Born in June 1965 in Tianjin, He Yinong had long served in Jinghai County and Jinghai District in Tianjin.
During Li Hongzhong’s tenure as the Party Secretary of Tianjin, He Yinong was promoted from Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Jinghai District People’s Congress in December 2016 to Deputy Secretary of the Hexi District Committee, and subsequently held positions as Deputy Secretary and District Chief of the Jinnan District and Secretary of the Jizhou District from 2018 to 2021.
On February 28, 2026, Wang Ping, former Deputy Director of the Education, Science, Culture, and Health Committee of the Tianjin Municipal People’s Congress, was investigated. Wang Ping, who graduated from Tianjin Medical University in 1983, had served as the Director and Party Secretary of Tianjin Cancer Hospital.
During Li Hongzhong’s tenure as the Party Secretary of Tianjin, Wang Ping was appointed as the Deputy Director of the Education, Science, Culture, and Health Committee of the Tianjin Municipal People’s Congress in May 2020.
On January 9, 2026, Deng Quanjun, a member of the Party Committee and Vice Director of the Tianjin Municipal Health Commission, was investigated. Deng Quanjun, born in October 1968, had served as a member of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of Tianjin Medical University General Hospital.
During Li Hongzhong’s tenure as the Party Secretary of Tianjin, Deng Quanjun was promoted to the Director of Tianjin Medical University General Hospital in February 2022, and in July 2022, he was appointed as the Vice Director of the Tianjin Municipal Health Commission.
Additionally, on April 29, 2026, Liu Shouzhong, former Party Committee member and Vice Chairman of the Baodi District Political Consultative Conference in Tianjin, was investigated; Chen Bing, Deputy Director of the Tianjin Branch of the Internal Audit Department of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, was investigated on March 21, 2026; and Ma Kuijun, former Party Secretary of Tianjin Maritime Vocational College, was investigated on January 23, 2026.
One year ago, within a month after the end of the two sessions of the Communist Party of China in 2025 from March 13 to April 12, Zhou Derui, a member of the Tianjin Municipal Party Committee and Minister of the Organization Department, Sun Jianhua, former Deputy Secretary-General of the Tianjin Municipal Party Committee, and Jin Xiangjun, former Deputy Secretary of the Tianjin Municipal Party Committee and Secretary-General of the Municipal Committee, were successively investigated. All three were close aides promoted and trusted by Li Hongzhong when he was in charge of Tianjin.
In 2026 so far, several high-ranking officials from Shandong have been investigated, including Political Bureau member Ma Xingrui, Vice Chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Political Consultative Conference Guo Yonghang, and former Party Secretary of Inner Mongolia Sun Shaocheng. Li Hongzhong has also been identified as one of the key figures in the Shandong faction.
As high-ranking officials from Shandong continue to be investigated and Li Hongzhong’s associates in Tianjin are being scrutinized, social media platforms have been circulating news about Li Hongzhong being questioned and investigated by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
Public information indicates that Li Hongzhong, born on August 13, 1956, with ancestral roots in Changle, Shandong, was born in Shenyang, Liaoning, and started his career as a secretary. He has served in Liaoning, Guangdong, Hubei, and Tianjin. During his tenure in Shenzhen, Guangdong, Li Hongzhong received special attention and promotion from Jiang Zemin’s alleged mistress, Huang Liman, and became a trusted aide.
After Xi Jinping took office at the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Li Hongzhong continuously pledged loyalty to Xi Jinping. In early 2016, when Li Hongzhong, who was then the Party Secretary of Hubei Province, became one of the first local warlords to declare “core of Xi” at the provincial Standing Committee meeting. Li Hongzhong was subsequently promoted to Party Secretary of Tianjin and later became a member of the Politburo. After the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Li Hongzhong was re-elected as a member of the Politburo and also served as Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.