On June 16, 2026, Cao Peng, the Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, was taken down from his position. Cao Peng was a key figure promoted by Jiang Youwei, the Secretary-General of the Liaoning Provincial Committee, during his tenure as the Mayor of Shenyang City.
Jiang Youwei has been abnormally elusive for nearly two months, with rumors suggesting that he died by jumping from a building after being investigated. Prior to Jiang Youwei’s incident, from the end of March to early April 2026, three officials in Shenyang City were successively investigated, all of them being Jiang Youwei’s former subordinates.
On June 16, 2026, the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission of the Communist Party of China reported based on information from the Liaoning Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision that Cao Peng, a member of the party committee and deputy director of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of Shenyang City, as well as the party secretary and chairman of the Municipal Federation of Trade Unions, was suspected of serious violations of discipline and laws, and was under investigation.
Public records show that Cao Peng, born in February 1964, graduated from the Department of Applied Mathematics at Liaoning University and received a master’s degree in Industrial Economic Management from the Northeast University of Finance and Economics. He has served long-term positions in Shenyang City, including as a member of the Standing Committee of the Xinmin City Committee under Shenyang City’s jurisdiction, Deputy Mayor, member of the party committee and Deputy Director of the Finance Bureau of Shenyang City, Deputy Secretary-General of the Municipal Government, Secretary and Director of the Party Committee of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.
During Jiang Youwei’s tenure as Deputy Secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Committee and Mayor of Shenyang City from December 2016 to January 2021, Cao Peng was promoted to join the Municipal Government as a member of the party committee and secretary-general, Director of the Municipal Government Office, serving as Jiang Youwei’s key assistant for over a year.
After Wang Xinwei succeeded Jiang Youwei as the Mayor of Shenyang City in January 2021, Cao Peng continued to serve as Wang Xinwei’s key assistant. In January 2022, he was transferred to become the Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of Shenyang City, and in July 2024, he concurrently served as the Chairman of the Shenyang City Federation of Trade Unions.
Wang Xinwei was promoted to Secretary of the Shenyang Municipal Committee in October 2021, Deputy Secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Committee in March 2024, and Governor of Liaoning Province in March 2025.
It is noteworthy that Jiang Youwei, the former leader of Cao Peng and current Secretary-General of the Liaoning Provincial Committee, has been abnormally elusive for almost two months.
According to public reports, on April 13, 2026, Jiang Youwei participated in a collective talk with Xu Kunlin, Secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Committee, and party secretaries and presidents of universities in the province, after which he consecutively missed several research and meeting activities of Xu Kunlin; Jiang Youwei’s name did not appear in official accompanying lists, which is inconsistent with the usual practice of the Secretary-General accompanying.
On April 20, 2026, an official report from the Liaoning Provincial Government’s website mentioned Xu Kunlin’s visit to Dalian and his meeting with Zhu Xingming, Chairman and CEO of Shenzhen Huichuan Technology Co., Ltd., where it was stated that “Provincial Leader Jiang Youwei” participated.
However, Jiang Youwei remained elusive for a long period again from April 21, 2026, until now (June 17, 2026), with no public reports of activities.
On April 21, 2026, the Hong Kong newspaper “Ming Pao” reported that there were widespread rumors of the death of Jiang Youwei, a member of the Liaoning Provincial Committee and Secretary-General, due to falling from a building last week.
In a bizarre turn of events, Jiang Youwei has been uncharacteristically evasive for nearly two months, and the Chinese authorities have yet to confirm whether Jiang Youwei is under investigation or has passed away. No personnel arrangements have been made to replace Jiang Youwei as the Secretary-General of the Liaoning Provincial Committee.
According to public records, Jiang Youwei, born in September 1967 in Nong’an County, Changchun City, Jilin Province, served long-term positions in Jilin Province, holding various roles before being transferred to Liaoning Province as the Deputy Secretary of the Shenyang Municipal Committee and Mayor in December 2016.
During the tenure of Zhang Guoqing as the Secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Committee and Li Lecheng as the Governor of Liaoning Province, Jiang Youwei, who served as the Mayor of Shenyang City for four years, was promoted to Deputy Governor of Liaoning Province and member of the party committee in January 2021.
During the tenure of Hao Peng as the Secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Committee, Jiang Youwei was promoted in September 2023 to be a member of the Liaoning Provincial Committee, Secretary-General, and Director of the Office of the Provincial Committee, and concurrently served as the Secretary of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection.
After reaching retirement age in September 2025, Hao Peng was transferred to a non-leadership position in the National People’s Congress; Xu Kunlin took over as the Secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Committee in September 2025, and Jiang Youwei continued to serve as Xu Kunlin’s key assistant.
Just before the unusual activities of Jiang Youwei, from the end of March to early April 2026, three officials in Shenyang City were successively investigated, all of them being former subordinates of Jiang Youwei.
According to public reports from the Liaoning Province and Shenyang City Discipline Inspection Commission, on April 7, 2026, Liu Zhiyong, former Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Shenyang Big Data Management Bureau, and Ma Jun, member of the party committee and Deputy Director of the Shenyang Data Bureau were both investigated on the same day.
Liu Zhiyong, born in August 1971, previously served as the Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Shenyang Information Center (Shenyang Credit Center); from February 2022 to August 2023, he served as the Director of the Shenyang Big Data Management Bureau.
Ma Jun, born in March 1978, previously served as the Minister of Political Affairs Service Guarantee Department at the Shenyang Information Center (Shenyang Credit Center), member of the party committee, and Deputy Director; by June 2024, he was appointed as the Deputy Director of the Shenyang Data Bureau.
On March 30, 2026, Han Chunli, the Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Shenyang Medical Security Bureau, was taken down during her tenure. Born in September 1967 in Shenyang, Liaoning, she had previously served as the Director of the Shenyang Social Medical Insurance Administration Bureau, Director of the Municipal Medical Security Affairs Service Center, member of the party committee and Deputy Director of the Shenyang Medical Security Bureau, and concurrently served as the Vice Chairman of the Municipal Women’s Federation.