In a surprising turn of events, Hu Guo, the former deputy director of the People’s Daily, a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, disappeared from the official leadership page of the newspaper’s website in June of last year. Recently, she made an appearance at a media forum held in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, yet reports suggested that she currently holds no specific position, raising eyebrows among observers.
As per reports from the Wuxi Daily, the 2026 China International Smart Communication Forum, jointly organized by the Central Radio and Television Station and the Jiangsu Provincial Government, took place on November 9 in Wuxi, where Hu Guo, a deputy-level official from the People’s Daily, was present.
This public appearance marks possibly Hu Guo’s first since her disappearance in June last year; however, the official reports pointedly noted her lack of a defined role.
In June 2022, the information regarding both Hu Guo and Yu Jijun, a member of the editorial board and secretary of the People’s Daily, was concurrently removed from the newspaper’s official website for reasons that remain unclear.
Public records indicate that Hu Guo, born in March 1971, graduated from the journalism department of Renmin University of China in 1992 before joining the People’s Daily. Throughout her career, she has held various significant positions, including editor-in-chief of the political news section, deputy director of the editorial office, president of the Tianjin branch, and director of the external cooperation department, as well as the director of the economic and social department. In September 2023, she was promoted to deputy director of the People’s Daily and became a member of the writing team for the newspaper’s important political commentary, “Ren Zhongping.” Furthermore, Hu Guo was a representative at the recent 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
It is noteworthy that the pseudonyms “Ren Zhongping” and “Ren Lixuan” are utilized by the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda system when disseminating messages.
The sudden disappearance of Hu Guo from the public eye and her ambiguous status upon re-emergence at the forum has sparked speculation about her future within the party and the reasons behind her absence. Given the opaque nature of political maneuvering within the Chinese government, analysts suggest that Hu Guo’s case may reflect broader trends in the shifting landscape of power and party loyalty in China.
As discussions about media and propaganda strategies continue, the implications of Hu Guo’s role—or lack thereof—within the Communist Party’s communication apparatus could be significant, warranting close attention from observers monitoring developments in Chinese politics and media.