Guangzhou’s healthcare system has been plagued by serious corruption in recent years, leading to the investigation of several high-ranking officials. On May 17, Li Chuyuan, former chairman of the Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group, was expelled from the party and public office.
According to a notice from the Guangdong Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision on May 17, Li Chuyuan was not only expelled from the party, but also had his qualification as a delegate to the 12th Party Congress of Guangzhou revoked. His national May 1st Labor Medal, Provincial May 1st Labor Medal, Guangdong Provincial Labor Model, and other honorary titles were also revoked, and his illegal gains were confiscated. His suspected criminal issues have been transferred to the prosecution for review and prosecution.
Li Chuyuan was investigated in August last year. On the evening of July 22, 2024, Baiyunshan announced that the company had received a resignation report from Chairman Li Chuyuan on that day. Li Chuyuan resigned from his positions as chairman, executive director, and chairman of the Board’s Strategic Development and Investment Committee due to personal reasons. After resigning, Li Chuyuan no longer held any position in the company. On August 30, Li Chuyuan underwent disciplinary review and supervision investigation by the Guangdong Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision.
Following Li Chuyuan’s investigation, on August 30, 2024, Zhang Chunbo, a director of Baiyunshan Company, a listed company under the Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group, was investigated. In December 2024, Baiyunshan announced that the company’s deputy general manager, Huang Haiwen, was under investigation.
Public records show that Li Chuyuan was born in October 1965 and graduated from Sun Yat-sen University in 1988. He started as a technician at Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Factory and held positions such as department head, minister, vice president, and general manager. In 1999, he became the plant manager of the Baiyunshan Chinese Medicine Factory. In 2010, Li Chuyuan became the general manager, vice chairman, and deputy secretary of the Party Committee of the Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group. In 2013, he became the top executive of the Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group, serving as the Party Committee Secretary and Chairman of the company. Until his resignation in July 2024, Li Chuyuan had worked for the Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group for 36 years, leading the company for 11 years.
After taking over as the plant manager at Baiyunshan Chinese Medicine Factory, Li Chuyuan oversaw the construction of the country’s largest Banlangen GAP base in 2002. During the SARS outbreak from late 2002 to 2003, the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the PRC announced that “Banlangen and eight other traditional Chinese medicine have an effect in treating SARS.”
Due to the high demand for Banlangen, Baiyunshan’s sales skyrocketed, generating over 50 million RMB in profits that year. Subsequently, Baiyunshan’s product range and market expanded gradually, and Li Chuyuan officially became the top executive of the Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group in 2013, serving as the Party Committee Secretary and Chairman of the company.
The Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group is a state-owned sole proprietorship authorized by the Guangzhou Municipal Government to manage state-owned assets. The group is primarily engaged in the research, development, production, and sales of pharmaceutical products, health products, medical devices, biomedicine, as well as providing medical and health services.
The Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group is also the second-largest enterprise group under the Guangzhou City Government, holding stakes in listed companies such as Baiyunshan and Kangmei Pharmaceutical. It owns more than 30 member companies, including Wanglaoji with a history of over 190 years, Chenliji with a history of over 420 years, as well as Jinxingtang, Panggaoshou, Caizhilin, and 12 other well-known Chinese enterprises. In 2021, the Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group made it into the Fortune Global 500 list.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2021, Li Chuyuan sparked controversy at the Boao Forum for Asia by stating, “Just drink Banlangen from Baiyunshan, and you don’t need to wear a mask,”
In 2017, at the Fortune Global Forum, he claimed that according to the research results of the national 863 program, drinking Wanglaoji can extend life by about 10%. Shortly after, the official Weibo account of Wanglaoji released a statement saying that the conclusion on life extension was based on a sample of 576 rats.
At the Boao Forum in 2018, Li Chuyuan stated that “Jinge has evolved from a drug to a necessity for common people,” and “If you’re afraid of getting heated, drink Wanglaoji; if you’re afraid it’s ineffective, take Jinge.”
An analysis by the Epoch Times found that in the past two years, dozens of individuals in the healthcare systems in various parts of Guangdong have been investigated. In March 2025, Zhou Yong, member of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Huadu District Health Bureau in Guangzhou City, was investigated.
In 2024, nine senior executives were investigated, including: Wang Guobin, former member of the Guangzhou Municipal Health Commission Party Committee; Yang Wubin, member of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Zengcheng District Health Bureau in Guangzhou City; Su Shengfeng, former Level-1 Inspector of the Guangdong Province Drug Supervision Bureau; Jiang Xiaodong, Director of the Guangdong Province Drug Supervision Bureau; Tian Shougang, Director of the Drug Supervision and Management Department of the Guangdong Province Drug Supervision Bureau; Lin Huanbing, Deputy Director of the Certification Center for Drug Evaluation and Certification of the Guangdong Province Drug Supervision Bureau.
It also includes Lin Yuyi, Media Director of Wanglaoji Health Industry Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Wanglaoji Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Chairman Fang Guanghong, and Zhao Min, Deputy General Manager of Wanglaoji Health Corporation and Investment Director.
In 2023, 17 senior executives were investigated, including: Xu Qingfeng, Director of the Guangdong Province Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine; Zhu Hong, Director of the Guangdong Provincial Health Commission (voluntarily surrendered); Zhou Wei, Chairman of Weineng Health; Quan Zhou, former Director of the First Hospital of Fengkai County, Zhaoqing City; Chen Yangsheng, former Director of Puning City Hospital; Li Zhirong, former Party Committee Secretary and Director of the Mao Ming City Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital; and several others.
Furthermore, there were six senior executives investigated in Jieyang City alone, including: Weng Jiandong, former Director of Jieyang City Hospital; Lin Tiehan, Party Branch Secretary and Head of Jieyang City Third Hospital (voluntarily surrendered); Liu Jianzhi, former Party Branch Secretary and Director of Jieyang City Maternal and Child Health Hospital (expelled from the party); Li Chunming, former Director of the Jieyang City Health Planning Bureau; Chen Junqiang, former Director of the Jiexi County Health Planning Bureau and Zhang Zhuangquan, former Director of the Jiexi County Health Bureau.