The Chinese Communist Party’s Ministry of Public Security has seen a series of high-level changes recently. On July 9th, Chen Siyuan and Sun Maoli, who have had a longstanding relationship with Minister Wang Xiaohong, both resigned. At the same time, Yang Weilin, who has no connection to Wang Xiaohong, was transferred from Guangxi. After Wang Xiaohong took control of the Ministry of Public Security, there were rumors of him establishing a “Wang Family Army.” However, analysts believe that with the recent significant personnel changes at the top of the public security system, this group may not remain loyal. In the current situation, there is fierce competition for power and benefits within the public security system. Some individuals have their own ideas, and if the situation changes in the future, conflicts may arise.
According to Xinhua News Agency on July 9th, the State Council of the CPC appointed Yang Weilin as Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Public Security, dismissing Chen Siyuan and Sun Maoli from their positions as Deputy Ministers of the Ministry of Public Security.
Public records show that Chen Siyuan, born in 1964, has held various positions within the Beijing public security system, including roles at the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau and the Public Security Department of the Beijing Municipal Committee. In August 2019, he became Assistant Minister of Public Security and, in June 2021, was appointed as Deputy Minister of Public Security. Sun Maoli, also born in 1964, had previously served as Director and Deputy Director of the Legal Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security before becoming Deputy Minister in August 2022. Both are currently members of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
Chen Siyuan was considered a confidant of Wang Xiaohong during his tenure in Beijing. Sun Maoli had also worked closely with Wang Xiaohong during his leadership of the Ministry of Public Security.
Wang Xiaohong, the former Minister of Public Security responsible for Xi Jinping’s security in Fujian, was transferred to Henan in August 2013. He later served as Vice Governor and Director of the Public Security Department of Henan Province before being appointed as head of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau in 2015. In June 2016, he became a Deputy Minister of Public Security, handling daily operations until April 2020 when he stepped down as Director of the Beijing Public Security Bureau. In June 2022, Wang Xiaohong was appointed Secretary of the Party Committee and Minister of the Ministry of Public Security, and later promoted to Secretary of the Central Secretariat at the 20th Central Committee in 2022, becoming a State Councilor in March 2023.
The newly appointed Yang Weilin, born in October 1968 in Jilin City, has had an extensive career in Jilin Province. He held positions such as Vice Mayor of Siping City, Director of the Public Security Bureau, member of the Standing Committee and Secretary of Political and Legal Committee of the Municipal Party Committee, Deputy Director of the High Court of Jilin Province, Director of the Changchun Municipal Public Security Bureau, and Deputy Mayor of Changchun. In May 2023, he was promoted to Deputy Chairman of the Guangxi Autonomous Region Government and Director of the Public Security Department, and in July 2025, he was appointed Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Public Security.
The current leadership of the Ministry of Public Security, as updated on July 10th, shows Qi Yanjun as the Deputy Minister in charge of daily operations under Minister Wang Xiaohong, Ren Airong as the head of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection stationed in the Ministry of Public Security, followed by Deputy Ministers Xu Datong and Wang Zhizhong, then Director of the Political Department Ling Zhifeng and Counterterrorism Commissioner Yue Xiuhu, and Deputy Minister Yang Weilin and Assistant Minister Liu Zhongyi.
Qi Yanjun previously worked with Wang Xiaohong in Henan. Xu Datong had a long working history in Tianjin before being promoted to Deputy Minister of Public Security from vice governor and director of the Public Security Department of Shaanxi Province in April 2023.
Former Vice Governor of Guangdong Province and Director of the Public Security Department, Wang Zhizhong, took over the position of Secretary and Director of the Special Operations Office vacated by Wang Xiaohong in June 2023, and was promoted to Deputy Minister of Public Security. Wang Zhizhong had worked in the police security bureau of the Ministry of Public Security (predecessor of the Special Operations Office) for 33 years, and before being transferred to Guangdong, he was the deputy of the Special Operations Office under Wang Xiaohong. He previously worked with Liu Yanping, who was arrested in March 2022 and later sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, and was considered Liu’s “major-domo.” Liu Yanping was implicated as a member of the Sun Li Jun political faction.
Ling Zhifeng had a long career in Zhejiang before being transferred to Deputy Chairman of the Guangxi Government, Secretary of the Party Committee, and Director of the Public Security Department. He later became a member of the Party Committee and Director of the Political Department of the Ministry of Public Security. The newly appointed Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Public Security, Yang Weilin, previously served as the Director of the Guangxi Public Security Department.
The Counterterrorism Commissioner, Yue Xiuhu, had a long tenure in Yunnan before being promoted to Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Public Security from vice governor and director of the provincial Public Security Department in June of last year.
Assistant Minister Liu Zhongyi had a long career in the Heilongjiang Provincial Public Security Department. In April 2019, he became the Director of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of Public Security, and in March 2024, he was appointed as a member of the Party Committee of the Ministry of Public Security, Assistant Minister, and Secretary and Director of the Fifth Bureau.
Political analyst Du Zheng previously expressed in Taiwanese media that since Wang Xiaohong took over the Ministry of Public Security, all 31 provincial public security directors have been replaced. Many of those who were promoted during the tenure of Meng Jianzhu, Guo Shengkun, and Zhao Kezhi have either fallen from power, been demoted, or transferred out of the public security system. Wang Xiaohong’s appointments mostly comprise his own loyalists from the past, raising concerns of him establishing a “Wang Family Army” rather than a “Xi Family Army.”
The article suggests that the team built solely on personal relationships lacks any restraint and may only promote “ambitious individuals.” While Wang Xiaohong has emphasized loyalty to Xi Jinping, over time, there are likely those around him influencing his decisions. People might only have Wang in their minds and not Xi. Should the situation change, could Wang Xiaohong potentially use this team under the pretext of “protecting the Emperor” to target Xi?
Recently, there has been a significant reshuffling within the leadership of the Ministry of Public Security of the Chinese Communist Party. In addition to the resignations of Chen Siyuan and Sun Maoli, in May 2025, Hu Binchen, the Deputy Minister of Public Security and head of the General Office, was transferred to the Vice Governor and Director of the Public Security Department of Jiangsu Province.
Throughout this year, there have been numerous changes in local public security departments as well. In February, Wu Lan, who was serving as the Secretary of the Benxi Municipal Committee in Liaoning, was appointed as the Director of the Public Security Department in Ningxia. In May, Chen Yuhuang, the Deputy Mayor and Director of the Public Security Bureau of Xiamen, Fujian Province, was appointed as the Director of the Public Security Department in Jilin Province. Hu Dapeng, who was the Vice Governor and Director of the Public Security Department in Yunnan, assumed a new role as a member of the Standing Committee and Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee of Yunnan Province. In July, Huang Ruixue, the Vice Governor of Gansu Province and Director of the Provincial Public Security Department, was transferred to the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Public Security Department of the Sichuan Provincial Government. Huang Ruixue’s predecessor, Ye Hanbing, was arrested in May this year. Also in July, Xia Fengjian, the Secretary of the Ya’an Municipal Committee in Sichuan and a long-time member of the Sichuan public security system, was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee of the Shandong Provincial Committee and Secretary of the Party Committee of the Public Security Department.
It is worth noting that Huang Ruixue, Hu Dapeng, and Hu Binchen were all parachuted into local positions after Wang Xiaohong took control of the Ministry of Public Security from 2020 to 2025.
Political commentator Li Linyi analyzed the personnel changes within the public security system, stating that the frequent parachuting and reassignments of local public security directors indicate that the authorities are fearful of them establishing their own power bases in one location for an extended period. The consecutive retreats or reassignments of Wang Xiaohong’s loyalists and the introduction of new officials at the top of the Ministry of Public Security and local public security may indicate that the so-called “Wang Family Army” is not as solid as previously thought. Additionally, with the current shifts in political and economic situations in China, there is fierce competition for power and profit at various levels from the central to local public security, leading to infighting and uneven distribution of spoils.
On October 1st last year, a shooting incident occurred at the Shaoyang Public Security Bureau in Hunan Province, where the Deputy Mayor and Director of the Public Security Bureau, Li Changyue, was shot by his subordinate, Duan Peng. Reports suggested that the two had conflicts over promotion issues. However, exclusive insider information obtained by Dajiyuan revealed that a business owner funded Duan Peng to bribe Li Changyue for promotion, which led to an incident where Duan Peng’s wife was allegedly raped when she went to deliver the money, and Duan Peng did not receive the promotion he desired, ultimately triggering the violent incident.
Li Linyi further expressed that local public security authorities are at the forefront of human rights abuses, but there are also individuals who are not entirely submissive and are looking out for their own interests or have their own ideas. With these officials armed and potentially not entirely obedient to Wang Xiaohong in critical moments due to their distance from Beijing, conflicts could erupt in the future if the situation changes.