On October 22nd, in the year 2024, former Beijing Deputy Mayor Gao Peng was placed under investigation for disciplinary violations.
He was accused of shrinking back and evading responsibilities in the face of major challenges, causing negative political influences. Gao Peng was also alleged to have accepted entertainment that might affect the impartial execution of public duties, providing “nanny-style” services for his family by arranging management and service targets. He was reported for improperly seeking benefits for others in cadre selection and appointment work, falsifying information, deceiving about academic qualifications and degrees, as well as illegally accepting gifts, trading stocks, borrowing large sums of money from management and service targets, engaging in corrupt practices, pursuing low-level indulgences, conducting power and money transactions, and using his position for personal gain in job placements, promotions, enterprise operations, and project contracting. He was also accused of unlawfully receiving substantial sums of money and neglecting his duties, resulting in significant losses to national interests.
Gao Peng, born in July 1972 in Fengcheng, Liaoning province, had a long career in Beijing. He held various positions, including Deputy District Mayor of Beijing’s Fengtai District, a member of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Development and Reform Commission of Beijing, as well as Deputy Secretary of the Shunyi District Party Committee, Deputy District Mayor, Acting District Mayor, District Mayor, and Party Secretary, among others.
In April 2018, Gao Peng started serving as the Secretary of the Shunyi District Party Committee in Beijing. In January 2023, he was appointed a member of the Beijing municipal government’s Party Committee, Deputy Mayor, and promoted to the deputy-ministerial level. Additionally, in March 2023, he became a member of the Beijing municipal government’s Party Committee and Deputy Mayor.
During his tenure, Gao Peng was responsible for overseeing the Beijing Urban Management Commission, Beijing Municipal Transportation Commission, Beijing Tiananmen Area Management Commission, and Beijing Key Station Area Management Commission, among others.
It’s notable that amidst the heightened security in Beijing during the two sessions of the Communist Party of China this year, on March 10th, in the early hours, a man drove his car and slammed into the main gate (Xinhua Gate) of Zhongnanhai, which is about 1 kilometer away from Xi Jinping’s office.
The man was shouting “Communist Party killers” when he was apprehended. Some have described this incident as a “heroic suicide-style attack on Zhongnanhai,” likening it to the bold actions of “Boluan Peng” during the Four Beams Crossing case. This incident has drawn significant attention with related videos circulating online.
As the person in charge of the Tiananmen Area Management Commission, it remains unknown whether Gao Peng’s responsibilities were affected due to this incident.
On April 21st this year, Gao Peng was announced to have fallen from grace, having held the position of Deputy Mayor of Beijing for just over a year.
Prior to being placed under investigation, Gao Peng was the youngest serving Deputy Mayor in Beijing at that time. He was also the first deputy-ministerial level official in Beijing to be investigated since the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
In May, Gao Peng was relieved of his duties as Deputy Mayor of Beijing.