On May 25th, Vice Chairman Liu Kuanren of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) was announced to be under investigation by the authorities. He is the first senior official from a “democratic party” to fall from grace this year and the third vice provincial-level “tiger” to be investigated in Shaanxi Province since the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC). So far this year, a total of 23 vice provincial-level and higher officials in China have been investigated in anti-corruption efforts.
According to a report on May 25th from the website of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission, Liu Kuanren is suspected of serious violations of duty and is currently under supervision investigation.
Public records show that Liu Kuanren, a native of Pucheng, Shaanxi, was born in 1963. He has held various positions such as Vice Dean of the Folk Music Department at Xi’an Conservatory of Music and Director of the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Culture. He has been serving as Vice Chairman of the CPPCC Shaanxi Provincial Committee since 2018.
As the Vice Chairman of the China Democratic National Construction Association, Liu Kuanren is the first high-ranking official from a “democratic party” to be investigated this year. He follows the footsteps of Li Jinzhu, former Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Shaanxi Provincial People’s Congress, and Han Yong, former Chairman of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the CPPCC, becoming the third vice provincial-level official to be investigated in Shaanxi. In recent years, there have been a series of high-ranking officials falling from power due to corruption in Shaanxi.
Being a Communist Party member from one of the so-called “flower vase parties”, Liu Kuanren’s downfall has drawn attention. His case indicates that the CPC’s anti-corruption campaign has extended beyond the party to non-CPC public officials.
It is widely believed that the CPC’s continuous large-scale cleaning of the officialdom under the guise of “anti-corruption” is actually a crucial means to consolidate its grip on power. According to publicly available data, 23 vice provincial-level and higher-ranking officials have been investigated by the CPC this year, spanning across central departments, local governments, state-owned enterprises, and the CPPCC system.
Among them are former Deputy Director of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration Zhang Tianfeng, Vice Chairman of the Anhui Provincial Committee of the CPPCC Zhou Xi’an, and Governor of Shanxi Province Jin Xiangjun. In May alone, there has been a surge in the number of high-ranking officials falling from power in the CPC, with 5 officials investigated this month.