On August 18, 2026, Wang Yi, former secretary of the Tianjin Haihe Media Center Communist Party Committee, was investigated. During Li Hongzhong’s leadership in Tianjin, Wang Yi was highly valued and in charge of major media outlets in the city. Over the past two years, several of Li Hongzhong’s close associates in Tianjin have been investigated.
According to information released by the Tianjin Municipal Discipline Inspection Commission and Supervisory Commission on August 18, 2026, Wang Yi is suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and is under investigation.
Public records show that Wang Yi, born in October 1970 in Fuping County, Baoding City, Hebei Province, served as a journalist for Tianjin Television Station from 1995 to 2000. He later became the General Manager and Chairman of North Net in 2000, Deputy Station Chief of Tianjin Radio and Television Station in 2008, and was promoted to Station Chief of Tianjin Radio and Television Station in December 2014, also serving as Chairman of Tianjin Radio and Television Media Group Co., Ltd. In May 2017, he became the Party Secretary and President of Tianjin Daily, and in November 2018, he assumed the position of Party Secretary and CEO of Tianjin Haihe Media Center.
During Li Hongzhong’s tenure as Secretary of the Tianjin Municipal Committee, he promoted the integration of Tianjin’s media, with Wang Yi being responsibile for implementing related deployments.
In November 2018, Tianjin Haihe Media Center was established, incorporating Tianjin Daily (Tianjin Daily Newspaper Group), Tonight Newspaper (Tonight Media Group), Tianjin Radio and Television Station, Tianjin Radio and Television Media Group Co., Ltd., Tianjin Newspaper Printing Center, and China Technology Market News Agency.
Wang Yi was appointed as the Party Secretary and CEO of the newly established Tianjin Haihe Media Center, concurrently serving as a member and secretary of the Party Committee of Tianjin Daily Affairs Department, member and secretary of the Party Committee of Tonight News Affairs Department, and member and secretary of the Party Committee of Tianjin Radio and Television Affairs Department. On December 31, 2024, Wang Yi was elected as the Chairman of the 7th Tianjin Journalist Association.
In June 2019, Wang Yi, in an interview with the People’s Daily, which oversees the Communist Party media, mentioned that in February 2017, Tianjin Municipal Committee Secretary Li Hongzhong called for the integration of Tianjin’s newspapers, television, radio, and internet to create new mainstream media. Li Hongzhong actively led the media integration efforts, personally inspecting and guiding news units in central and Tianjin multiple times, convening 5 sessions of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Committee and special sessions of the Committee Secretary to make decisions regarding Tianjin’s media integration, setting timelines and roadmaps. In April 2018, the Tianjin Municipal Committee reviewed and approved the “Tianjin Haihe Media Center Establishment Plan.”
Li Hongzhong, formerly Vice Governor of Guangdong Province, Standing Committee Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Executive Deputy Governor, Mayor and Party Secretary of Shenzhen, Governor and Party Secretary of Hubei Province, served as Secretary of the Tianjin Municipal Committee from September 2016 to December 2022, and has been a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Chairman of the National People’s Congress since the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party.
Over the past two years, several of Li Hongzhong’s close associates in Tianjin have been investigated. From March 13 to April 12, 2025, three officials including Zhou Derui, member of the Standing Committee of the Tianjin Municipal Committee and Minister of the Organization Department, Sun Jianhua, former Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Committee, and Jin Xiangjun, former Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Committee and Secretary General, were investigated successively. These individuals were all promoted and trusted by Li Hongzhong during his term in Tianjin.
Since 2025, over ten bureau-level officials in Tianjin, including Guo Zijie, former member of the Party Committee of the Tianjin Municipal Transportation Commission, Wang Yuyi, former Deputy District Chief of Xiqing District, Liu Shouzhong, former Deputy Chairman of the Political Consultative Conference of Baodi District, Zhai Jiachang, former Director of the Urban Utilities Management Bureau of Tianjin, Deng Quanjun, Deputy Director of the Tianjin Health Commission, He Yinong, former Party Secretary of Jizhou District, Yuan Guangrui, former Director of the Tianjin Finance Bureau, have been investigated. These officials were mostly promoted by Li Hongzhong.
Li Hongzhong has been described as a “political chameleon” and a typical opportunist. During his tenure in Guangdong and Shenzhen, he was favored and promoted by Huang Liman, a mistress of Jiang Zemin, becoming her close confidant. Li Hongzhong closely followed Bo Xilai in promoting “red songs” in Hubei. In April 2012, Li Hongzhong accompanied Zhou Yongkang on inspections in Yichang and Wuhan. Following the downfall of Bo Xilai and Zhou Yongkang, Li Hongzhong continually expressed loyalty to Xi Jinping.
In early 2016, Li Hongzhong, then Secretary of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee, was one of the first to declare “core leader Xi” in the provincial Standing Committee, subsequently praising and flattering the Communist Party leader Xi Jinping, which led to his rapid promotion to Secretary of the Tianjin Municipal Committee and member of the CPC Political Bureau, Vice Chairman of the National People’s Congress.