The Vice Secretary of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Party Committee and Chairperson of the Autonomous Region Government, Wang Lixia, was unexpectedly reported to have been taken down today (22nd). A few days ago, Du Wen, a former Inner Mongolia official living overseas, revealed that Wang Lixia, known as the “Queen of Changing Clothes,” was taken away by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and accused of having inappropriate relations with several senior CCP leaders.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervision Commission of the CCP stated on August 22 that Wang Lixia, Vice Secretary of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Party Committee and Chairperson of the Autonomous Region Government, is under investigation for “serious violations of discipline and law.”
Public records show that Wang Lixia, of Mongolian ethnicity, was born in June 1964 and is a member of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP. She previously taught at Xi’an Statistics College, and held positions such as Deputy Director of the Shaanxi Provincial Bureau of Statistics, Party Secretary and Director of the Shaanxi Provincial Bureau of Statistics, Mayor of Tongchuan City, and Deputy Governor of Shaanxi Province in 2013. In 2016, Wang Lixia became a member of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Party Committee and Minister of the United Front Work Department. In 2019, she was a member of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Party Committee and Secretary of the Hohhot Municipal Committee, and in 2021, she became Vice Secretary of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Party Committee and Chairperson of the Autonomous Region Government.
News of Wang Lixia’s investigation had been circulating on the internet a few days before.
On August 18, Du Wen, a former Inner Mongolia official living overseas, disclosed on an overseas platform that according to the latest information within the system, Wang Lixia, known as the “Queen of Changing Clothes,” was taken by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection that day for questioning.
At that time, Du Wen stated that this person was the common mistress of senior CCP members Xi Jinping, Zhao Leji, and Shi Taifeng, involving complex power struggles within the CCP leadership. He had previously emphasized on the show that Wang Lixia was in great danger and about to be arrested. Whether this investigation would actually lead to consequences, the answer was expected to be revealed soon.
On August 19, Du Wen said that it was heard that Wang Lixia had just returned from a disaster relief site in Bayan Nur to the Chairman’s Mansion at 1 Chilin Street, but before she could regain her senses, she was taken away by people in black clothing overnight.
On August 20, Du Wen again mentioned that as rumors of Wang Lixia being taken away by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection spread like wildfire in the Inner Mongolia official circles, another close friend who frequently sent clothes to Wang Lixia, Fan Xiaoping, Vice Chairperson of the Inner Mongolia Chamber of Commerce, Chairperson of the Inner Mongolia Women Entrepreneurs Association, and Chairperson of Hengmao Group, was also taken away for questioning that afternoon, “Will she be able to return?”
Wang Lixia becomes the fourth CCP Autonomous Region Government Chairperson to fall from grace this year, following former Chairpersons Qizhala of the Tibet Autonomous Region (investigated on January 23, 2025), Pantiliang of the Guangxi Autonomous Region (investigated on May 16, 2025), and Liuhui of the Ningxia Autonomous Region (investigated on July 18, 2025).
During Wang Lixia’s predecessor Pantiliang’s tenure as Chairperson of Inner Mongolia, the central authorities demanded the strong promotion of Mandarin teaching materials, leading to large-scale protests. It is believed that Pantiliang was relieved of his position as Chairperson of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Government and retreated to the second line earlier than expected in the middle of 2021, possibly not solely due to “health reasons.”
After the 20th National Congress of the CCP, internal struggles at the top level have intensified, with political turmoil leading to the downfall or disappearance of a large number of senior party and government officials. Vice Chairman of the Military Commission He Weidong has been missing since this year’s Two Sessions. Recently, it has been announced that the CCP will hold the Fourth Plenary Session in October, and the officialdom remains in a state of continuous upheaval.
Several foreign media outlets recently reported that after returning from visits to Singapore, South Africa, and Algeria on July 30, Minister of the International Liaison Department of the CCP Liu Jianchao was taken away for questioning by the authorities early in August, and his residence was also searched.