In recent years, there has been a series of high-ranking officials in Guiyang falling from grace. On November 10, the Discipline Inspection Commission of the Guizhou Province Communist Party announced that Gao Yang, a member of the Guiyang Municipal Government and deputy mayor, is suspected of serious violations of discipline and law, voluntarily surrendered himself, and is currently undergoing disciplinary review and supervision investigation by the Discipline Inspection Commission of Guizhou Province.
Public records show that Gao Yang was born in October 1969 and started working in July 1991. He has held positions such as Director and Party Secretary of the Guiyang City Urban and Rural Planning Bureau, Party Committee Secretary, and Director of the Municipal Bureau of Natural Resources and Planning.
In May 2023, Gao Yang was appointed as the Deputy Mayor of Guiyang, responsible for natural resource management and planning, housing and urban-rural construction, urban management, comprehensive city law enforcement, urban renewal, housing provident fund, and public resource trading.
On October 27 this year, Gao Yang made a public appearance in his capacity as Deputy Director of the Guizhou Provincial Department of Natural Resources.
It is noteworthy that Gao Yang’s colleague, another female deputy mayor of Guiyang, Liu Lan, was investigated while in office on February 26 this year, expelled from the Communist Party on June 25, and arrested in August. Liu Lan served as a deputy mayor of Guiyang in 2021.
In recent years, several high-ranking officials in Guiyang have been embroiled in scandals. In August 2024, Mayor Ma Ningyu of Guiyang was investigated while in office and was “expelled” and transferred to judicial authorities in July this year.
Thus far, Guiyang City has seen four mayors falling from grace in recent years, namely Chen Yan, Li Zaiyong, Liu Wenxin, and the most recent, Gao Yang. The corruption scandals involving the three prior mayors were staggering, leading to the death penalty with a reprieve.
On March 25, 2024, Chen Yan, former Vice Chairman of the Guizhou Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, was investigated and found guilty of bribery and abuse of power, resulting in a death penalty with a substantial amount of over 357 million yuan. Chen Yan had previously served as deputy mayor and mayor of Guiyang.
On March 27, 2023, Li Zaiyong, former Vice Chairman of the Guizhou Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, was investigated. He had served as mayor and deputy party secretary of Guiyang. In August 2024, Li Zaiyong was sentenced to death with reprieve for bribery and abuse of power, with the bribery amounting to approximately 432 million yuan.
In October 2022, Liu Wenxin, who succeeded Li Zaiyong as mayor of Guiyang, was also investigated. In December 2024, Liu Wenxin was sentenced to death with the penalty commuted to life imprisonment without the possibility of reduction, parole, or commutation. Liu Wenxin faced charges of bribery, corruption, money laundering, and carrying restricted knives endangering public safety, with the bribery amounting to a staggering 609 million yuan.