On July 13, 2026, there was a change in leadership at the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Provincial Supervisory Commission. Simultaneously, on the same day, the former deputy secretary of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, Ding Zhixue, was placed under investigation. Over the past three months, a total of five officials from the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection have been investigated. Among the officials who have been investigated in the past two years are also Zhang Ping, the former deputy secretary of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, and Shen Yong, a commissioner at the provincial Party committee inspection team.
According to a report published on the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission on July 13, 2026, Ding Zhixue, the former director of the Finance and Economics Committee of the Guizhou Provincial People’s Congress, is suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and is under investigation.
Ding Zhixue, born in November 1955 in Guizhou, has been working at the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection since August 1978. His previous positions include Director of the Supervision Department of Guizhou Province, Director of the Research Office, Deputy Director and later Director of the Legislation Department of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection. In May 2000, he became the Deputy Secretary of the Qiandongnan Prefecture Committee of Guizhou Province. In December 2003, he was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, and in December 2004, he was officially promoted to the director level. In April 2007, he became a member, standing committee member, and deputy secretary of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection. From May 2008 to January 2016, he served as the Secretary of the Party group and Director of the Civil Affairs Department of Guizhou Province.
Ding Zhixue, just four days before being investigated, on July 9, 2026, Rao Yuzhu, a former first-grade inspector of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, was also investigated.
Rao Yuzhu, born in February 1963 and working in the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision Department since May 1988, has held various positions such as Director of the Party Construction Office, Deputy Division Chief of the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Department, Deputy Director of the Inspection and Supervision Department, Deputy Director of the Case Supervision Management Office (in charge of the work), Director of the Case Supervision Management Office of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, Director of the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Department One, member of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection Standing Committee and member of the Provincial Supervisory Committee.
Rao Yuzhu and Ding Zhixue have had long-term interactions within the Guizhou discipline inspection system. During Ding Zhixue’s tenure as the Deputy Secretary of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection from December 2003 to May 2008, Rao Yuzhu served as the Deputy Division Chief of the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Department Three of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and later as the Deputy Director of the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Department Four of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision Department.
According to public reports, several more officials in the Guizhou discipline inspection system have been investigated recently.
On June 9, 2026, Zheng Mengying, a former deputy director-level full-time inspector of the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Team of the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Department of Guizhou Province, was investigated.
On April 17, 2026, Gui Fang, former director of the Case Handling Office of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision Commission, and Xia Wei, former deputy director and first-grade researcher of the Tenth Review and Investigation Office of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision Commission, were also investigated.
In addition, on January 10, 2025, Shen Yong, a first-grade senior supervisory officer and commissioner of the Provincial Party Committee Inspection Team, fell from grace while in office. Born in May 1964 in Renhuai, Guizhou, Shen Yong has served in various positions such as member of the Party Committee and Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Guizhou Province, Deputy Director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the Province, Head of the Discipline Inspection Group sent by the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection to the Provincial State-owned Assets Commission, Head of the 11th Provincial Party Committee Inspection Team, Head of the Third Inspection Team, and Head of the Fourth Inspection Team.
On April 17, 2025, Zhang Ping, the former deputy secretary of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and the deputy director of the provincial supervision commission, stood trial at the Tianjin First Intermediate People’s Court and was accused of accepting bribes totaling more than 47.72 million yuan. Born in August 1964 in Nanzhang, Hubei, Zhang Ping has worked in the Guizhou discipline inspection system for over 30 years, holding positions such as Deputy Director and Director of the Comprehensive Office of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision Department, Deputy Director of the Supervision Department of the Province, Party Secretary and Director of the Discipline Inspection Commission of Guiyang Municipal Committee, Deputy Secretary of the Guiyang Municipal Committee, Party Secretary and Director of the Party Group of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of Anshun City, etc. In April 2017, Zhang Ping was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, and in February 2018, he concurrently served as the Deputy Director of the Guizhou Provincial Supervisory Commission. However, he fell from grace while in office on April 3, 2024.
Amid the continuous investigations of officials in the Guizhou Province Commission for Discipline Inspection, on July 13, 2026, the Standing Committee of the 14th Guizhou Provincial People’s Congress appointed Li Rui as the acting director of the Guizhou Provincial Supervisory Commission.
On July 13, 2026, the official website of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection displayed Li Rui as the Secretary of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection. Before that, Li Rui served as a member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Zunyi Municipal Committee.
Public information indicates that Li Rui, born in October 1967 in Fenyang, Lvliang City, Shanxi Province, has had a long career in Gansu and held positions such as Director of the Lanzhou New Area Management Committee, Deputy Secretary of the Party Working Committee (director level), member of the Standing Committee of the Lanzhou Municipal Committee, Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Lanzhou New Area, and Director of the Management Committee, Director and Party Secretary of the Gansu Provincial Department of Transportation, and other posts. In October 2020, he was promoted to Vice Governor of Guizhou Province and became a member of the party group of the provincial government. In April 2022, Li Rui was appointed as a member of the Standing Committee of the Guizhou Provincial Party Committee, and in June of the same year, he became the Secretary of the Zunyi Municipal Committee.
Formerly, Li Yuanping served as a member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, and Director of the Provincial Supervisory Commission. Born in November 1962 in Huairen, Shahezi, Shanxi, Li Yuanping had held various positions before his retirement, including Deputy Director of the Shanxi Commercial Inspection Bureau, Director of the Shanxi Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, Director of the Jilin Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, Director of the Import and Export Food Safety Bureau of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, Chief of the Customs Affairs Division of the Ministry, Director of the Office of the Administration, and Director of the Personnel Department of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. In January 2018, he was appointed as a member of the Standing Committee of the Gansu Provincial Party Committee and Minister of the Organization Department. In December 2021, he was transferred to become a member of the Standing Committee of the Guizhou Provincial Party Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, and Director of the Provincial Supervisory Commission, and eventually reached retirement age.
Li Yuanping and Li Rui are from the same hometown in Shanxi, and both have had connections in Gansu and Guizhou official circles.
Prior to Li Yuanping, the previous Secretaries of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection included Xia Hongmin (from March 2017 to November 2021), Song Xuantao (from September 2010 to March 2017), Wang Zhengfu (from November 2006 to September 2010), and Cao Hongxing (from 2001 to 2006).
Xia Hongmin, born in December 1961 in Jianli, Hubei, later served as a member of the Standing Committee of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Commission for Discipline Inspection. He retired in May 2025. Song Xuantao, born in March 1960 in Huaxian, Henan, later became a member of the Party group and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the national Supply and Marketing Cooperation General Society before retiring in September 2020. Wang Zhengfu, born in September 1947 in Kaiyuan City, Guizhou Province, later served as Chair of the CPPCC of Guizhou Province until he stepped down in January 2013. Cao Hongxing, born in 1940 in Quanjiao, Anhui, retired in 2006.
The political landscape in Guizhou is highly sensitive. Hu Jintao served as the Secretary of the Guizhou Provincial Party Committee from 1985 to 1988. Other prominent figures who have led in Guizhou include former Politburo member Li Zhanshu, former State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi, current Politburo member and Secretary of the Tianjin Municipal Committee Chen Min’er, current State Councilor Chen Yixin among others. Li Zhanshu, Zhao Kezhi, Chen Min’er, and Chen Yixin are all key figures promoted and trusted by the Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping; Chen Min’er is also a close associate of Xi Jinping from his time in Zhejiang. In recent years, the political scene in Guizhou has been undergoing continuous clean-ups.
In mid-April 2026, a source familiar with the Guizhou discipline inspection system told a reporter from Epoch Times that from January to March 2026, there was a surge in report materials from the Guizhou Communist Party that were sent to the central government, significantly accelerating the investigation process. By mid-April, 18 provincial-level officials in Guizhou had been formally investigated. This cleanup operation is notably different from previous ones as the investigative authority has been directly taken over by the central Commission for Discipline Inspection, while the local discipline inspection system is only responsible for providing assistance, indicating that the top leadership in Beijing is cleaning up the local power in Guizhou and entering the stage of “vertical crackdown.”
Insiders revealed that the central Commission for Discipline Inspection has directly taken over the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, and the investigative team from the central body has substantively intervened in handling cases in the political, financial, and key state-owned enterprises sectors in Guizhou, issuing cooperation requests to the local authorities. The level of confidentiality of the cleanup operation is very high, with many situations inaccessible to local officials, and even the timing of public announcements is determined by authorities in Beijing.