On June 6, 2026, Jiang Song, the deputy commander of the 12th Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), passed away at the age of 52 due to a sudden illness. This tragedy follows the deaths of Kong Yuanyuan, a 44-year-old associate professor at the XPCC Urumqi University, on May 2, 2026, and Jiang Xinjun, the 56-year-old secretary of the XPCC Discipline Inspection Commission, on November 3, 2025.
The XPCC 12th Division Committee announced the death of Jiang Song in a notice published in the Xinjiang XPCC Committee’s official newspaper, the “Tianshan Times,” on June 11, 2026. It was stated that Jiang Song, the deputy commander of the 12th Division and temporary Party Secretary of the Rongtai Industrial Park under the division, fell critically ill during work, and despite rescue efforts, he passed away at 3:17 am on June 6, 2026, at the age of 52.
Jiang Song was born in August 1973 in Huocheng County, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. He joined work in December 1997 and became a member of the Communist Party of China in May 2000.
The XPCC was established in 1954 and is the last existing production and construction corps under the Chinese Communist Party, operating as a unique organization with a combination of military, political, and business functions at the provincial level. The U.S. State Department has labeled the XPCC as a “quasi-military organization” under the CCP.
In recent times, there have been several reports of sudden deaths and illnesses among middle-aged individuals in mainland China. Just a month ago, Kong Yuanyuan, a well-known musician and associate professor at XPCC Urumqi University, passed away at the age of 44 on May 2, 2026. Sources revealed that Kong was diagnosed with pneumonia on April 23, 2026, and her condition worsened suddenly the next day, leading to acute pneumonia with her left lung turning completely white. Despite resuscitation after a sudden cardiac arrest that night and falling into a coma for 8 days, Kong Yuanyuan passed away on the evening of May 2, 2026.
Kong Yuanyuan, born on July 7, 1981, was an associate professor in the Department of Music and Dance at Urumqi University, also serving as the Vice President of the XPCC Musicians’ Association. In 2025, she had made several appearances on CCTV programs.
Seven months earlier, on November 5, 2025, the CCP’s “XPCC Daily” reported the sudden death of Jiang Xinjun, a member of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Deputy Political Commissar, Secretary of Discipline Inspection Commission, and Director of the Supervisory Commission of the XPCC, at the age of 56 due to an unexpected illness during work on November 3, 2025.
At the time of Jiang Xinjun’s death, Xinjiang was undergoing a major cleansing in its official circles, leading to speculations outside about the cause of his sudden passing.
In July 2025, CCP Political Bureau member Ma Xingrui was removed as the Secretary of Xinjiang, and on April 3, 2026, it was officially announced that he had been ousted. During this period, Ma Xingrui’s former associates in Xinjiang were subject to intensive investigations, including XPCC Deputy Commander Li Xu and others.