The cleaning waves of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and equipment systems have reached military industry enterprises, and suspicions have expanded to include officials with military background transferring to local positions. The former secretary of the Mudanjiang City Committee in Heilongjiang Province of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Dai Shoulun, who was investigated yesterday (August 22), has a military industry background and was once referred to as the “Aerospace Little General”. He had connections with Wu Yansheng, the former chairman of the Aerospace Science and Technology Group who was also investigated.
On August 22, the Heilongjiang Discipline Inspection Commission of the CCP announced that Dai Shoulun, the former secretary of the Mudanjiang City Committee, was “suspected of serious violations of discipline and law” and is currently under investigation.
Public records show that the 52-year-old Dai Shoulun, originally from Qingdao, Shandong Province, worked in the Chinese aerospace system for 25 years. He entered the China Academy of Space Technology in July 1994. In July 1999, the China Aerospace Industry Corporation was split into the Aerospace Science and Technology Group and the Aerospace Science and Technology Industry Group. In February 2000, Dai Shoulun successively held positions such as the Director of the Small Satellite Engineering Office of the Aerospace Science and Technology Group (referred to as “Aerospace Five Institute”), Assistant General Manager, Deputy General Manager, and General Manager of the Aerospace Dongfang Hong Satellite Co., Ltd., Assistant to the Director of the Aerospace Five Institute and Senior Vice President, President of the Chinese Dongfang Hong Satellite Co., Ltd., among others. In April 2009, Dai Shoulun was appointed as the Deputy Director of the Aerospace Five Institute.
In September 2011, Dai Shoulun was transferred to the Chinese Aerospace Science and Technology Group Eighth Research Institute (“Aerospace Eight Institute”), serving as the Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy Director, Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Aerospace Industry (Group) Co., Ltd. In July 2014, he became the Director and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the Aerospace Eight Institute, as well as the Chairman of the Shanghai Aerospace Industry (Group) Co., Ltd.
The Aerospace Eight Institute, also known as the Shanghai Aerospace Technology Research Institute, mainly focuses on defense equipment, launch vehicles, application satellites, space science, aerospace technology applications, and aerospace services.
According to reports, during Dai Shoulun’s term as the Director of the Aerospace Eight Institute, he was praised by the CCP official media as the “Aerospace Little General” due to the performance in satellite launches.
In 2016, Dai Shoulun was elected as a Corresponding Academician of the Technical Sciences Department of the International Academy of Astronautics, and in 2018, he was elected as an Academician of the Engineering Sciences Department of the International Academy of Astronautics.
In 2019, Dai Shoulun was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of the Harbin City Committee, marking his first local party and government position. In March 2023, Dai Shoulun was appointed as the Secretary of the Mudanjiang City Committee until his investigation.
According to mainland media reports, the news of Dai Shoulun’s investigation had already been circulating in local official circles, with his last appearance reportedly in mid-April of this year. On July 1, The Paper reported that his resume had been removed from the “City Committee Leadership” section of the Mudanjiang City government website. As of now, the position of Secretary of the Mudanjiang City Committee remains vacant.
Speculation in the public suggests that Dai Shoulun’s downfall may be related to anti-corruption efforts within the Chinese aerospace system. Caixin website specifically mentioned several high-ranking military industry officials who were investigated last year.
From April to June 2023, the Central Inspection Team carried out inspections on multiple military industry enterprises including the Aerospace Science and Technology Group, Aerospace Science and Industry Group, Norinco Group, and China Ordnance Equipment Group. On December 27 of the same year, three individuals from the military industry system were removed from the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), namely Wu Yansheng, Chairman of the Aerospace Science and Technology Group, Liu Shiquan, Chairman of the China Ordnance Industry Group Co., Ltd., and Wang Changqing, Deputy General Manager of the Aerospace Science and Industry Group. Wu Yansheng had been working at the Aerospace Science and Technology Group since January 2002, served as the Chairman from May 2018 and had many years of working intersections with Dai Shoulun.