China Unicom’s Jiangsu Branch Party Secretary and General Manager Chen Yuanhu was investigated on October 8, 2026. Chen Yuanhu, 79 years old, previously served as the Deputy Mayor of Chongqing.
On October 8, 2026, according to the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China and the National Supervisory Commission, China Unicom’s Jiangsu Branch’s former Party Secretary and General Manager Chen Yuanhu was suspected of serious violations of discipline and law, and is undergoing disciplinary review by the China Unicom disciplinary inspection and supervision team and investigation by the Lannan City Supervisory Committee in Gansu Province.
Information available publicly shows that Chen Yuanhu was born in 1947, is 79 years old, originally from Chongqing, and has held positions such as Deputy Secretary of the District Committee and Secretary of the District Committee in the central area of Chongqing, Director of the Chongqing Municipal Commission for Restructuring Economic Systems, member of the Chongqing Municipal Party Committee, and Deputy Mayor of Chongqing.
Before Chongqing was upgraded to a municipality directly under the central government in 1997, around 1996, at the age of 49, Chen Yuanhu left the local government and joined China Unicom to serve as the inaugural Party Secretary and General Manager of the Jiangsu Branch, also concurrently serving as the General Manager of Unicom’s New Timespace Mobile Communications Jiangsu Branch.
Around 2001, Chen Yuanhu left the Unicom system and became the General Manager of Chongqing Changfeng Communications Co., Ltd.; at the age of 54, he was far from the retirement age of a central state-owned enterprise, and the reasons for his job change are unclear. In February 2004, Chen Yuanhu left Changfeng Communications. Since then, Chen Yuanhu has faded from the public’s view, with rare mentions of him in the news.
Chongqing Changfeng Communications Co., Ltd. was initially a listed company focusing on broadband access services that underwent several name changes. In 2006, Harmony Century (Dongyang) Film and Television Media Co., Ltd. was established, which is now known as Harmony Century United Co., Ltd., a listed company primarily engaged in film and television drama distribution, with no connection to the former Chongqing Changfeng Communications Co., Ltd.
An article on the Netease public account “Observing Stars and Appreciating the Moon” raised questions about the investigation involving Chen Yuanhu. His main publicly known career was concentrated in Chongqing and Jiangsu, yet the investigation involved participation from Lannan, Gansu, which is far away. Handling cases in different locations often helps reduce interference from familiar social circles and existing relationships, indicating special arrangements for the case.
In recent years, many retired senior executives from China’s three major telecom operators have been investigated, despite their older age.
In January 2024, China Unicom’s former General Manager of Value-Added Services Department Wang Yingpei was investigated. Wang Yingpei was transferred from the Department of Railways of the Communist Party of China to the China Unicom preparatory team in May 1994 to participate in the establishment of China Unicom. He served in various positions such as Deputy Minister of the Human Resources Department, General Manager of Yunnan Unicom, General Manager of the Value-Added Services Department, and Secretary of the Beijing Unicom Party Committee. Wang Yingpei returned to the Railway Department in 2008 until his retirement, being investigated more than a decade after leaving China Unicom and retiring.
On November 28, 2025, Yuan Jianguo, former Party Secretary, Chairman, and General Manager of China Mobile’s Henan Company, was reported to be under investigation. Yuan Jianguo, born in 1951, was 74 years old at the time of his investigation, which occurred 15 years after his retirement in 2010. In June 1999, Henan Mobile was separated from the postal and telecommunications system, and Yuan Jianguo was directly appointed as the first General Manager of Henan Mobile from the Deputy Director of Henan Provincial Post and Telecommunications Bureau.
Yuan Jianguo was also the first provincial company General Manager of China Mobile to encounter issues. Other executives from different provinces under China Mobile have also been investigated, including Li Hua, the first General Manager of Sichuan Mobile, who was investigated in 2010; Shen Changfu, the first General Manager of Chongqing Mobile, who was investigated in 2010; Xu Long, the first General Manager of Zhejiang Mobile and later General Manager of Guangdong Mobile, investigated in 2013; Zhang Liande, the first General Manager of Hebei Mobile, investigated 5 years after retiring in 2014; and Wang Jiangen, the first General Manager of Hunan Mobile, investigated in 2015, and so on.