The Chinese Communist authorities recently announced the investigation and removal from office of Yu Wenming, the former director of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Yu Wenming’s affiliation with a “democratic party” has drawn attention. Analysts believe that the continuous targeting of these high-ranking officials affiliated with non-Communist parties by the Chinese Communist Party in the past two years indicates a diminishing status of these parties compared to before.
The official announcement on the 22nd stated that Yu Wenming, the former director of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, “is suspected of serious violations of duty and is currently under investigation by the National Supervisory Commission.”
Yu Wenming, born in June 1963 in Shandong, graduated from Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. After obtaining a master’s degree in medicine, he joined the China Traditional Chinese Medicine News Agency and held positions such as Deputy Director of Chinese Medicine and Communications Department. In 1997, he served as the director of the China Center for Science and Technology Development and Exchange in Traditional Chinese Medicine. In April 2004, he became the deputy director of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and in 2018, he became the director before stepping down in 2023.
In recent anti-corruption efforts in the medical field, former Deputy Director of the National Medical Products Administration Chen Shifei and former director of the State Food and Drug Administration Bi Jingquan have also been implicated.
It is noted that Yu Wenming previously served as the Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Democratic Party “China Association for Promoting Democracy” and was a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference for two terms. He is not a member of the Communist Party and therefore has not been subject to investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
Yu Wenming is the fourth non-Communist high-ranking official at the provincial or ministerial level to be investigated since last year. The previous three were Li Yuefeng, former Executive Vice Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang (a position equivalent to department level), Zhao Jinyun, former Deputy Governor of Gansu Province from the China Association for Promoting Democracy, and Liu Kuanren, Vice Chairman of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference from the China Democratic Promotion Party.
The so-called “democratic parties” in China refer to the eight major democratic parties within the country, including the Chinese Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, the Chinese Democratic League, the China Association for Promoting Democracy, the China Democratic National Construction Association, the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party, the China Zhi Gong Party, the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League. They are in fact all “direct units” under the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China.
The Chinese Communist Party has always claimed that its multi-party cooperation and political consultation system is a so-called “new type of party system.” However, there have been criticisms from the outside world that these several democratic parties are essentially insignificant and are at most “figureheads.”
In an article for The Epoch Times, Lin Hui pointed out that these eight political parties, under the one-party dictatorship of the Communist Party of China, are undoubtedly just figureheads and are therefore referred to as “satellite parties.” They played a significant role in implementing united front work for the Communist Party before and after it came to power, but they have not been spared in the political storms incited by the Communist Party. Particularly during the Cultural Revolution, a large number of high-ranking officials of democratic parties, upper-level representatives of industrial and commercial sectors, as well as prominent figures of ethnic minorities, religions, overseas Chinese, and non-Party senior intellectuals were subjected to house searches, struggle sessions, and even persecution leading to death.
In a response to a question on “Zhihu” about “What is the experience of becoming a member of the Chinese democratic parties?” a netizen claiming to be a member of the China Democratic National Construction Association, named “Xunzi,” mentioned that joining a democratic party mainly involves attending various meetings, being propagandized, having no political voice, and only occupying a place in one’s own profession. “Those seeking democracy and freedom should find another way!”
Current affairs commentator Li Linyi told The Epoch Times that these high-ranking officials of the Chinese “figurehead parties” or “satellite parties” are also part of the Communist Party and have made significant gains within this corrupt system. Their past immunity from accountability was due to the Communist Party’s need for united front work. Now that the Communist Party is going after them, it signifies that the status of these parties is even more precarious than before. The Communist Party, in its pursuit of more wealth, no longer cares about the superficial harmony with these parties.