On the eve of the CCP’s Third Plenum, the political scene in the famous tourist city of Guilin has undergone a major purge. The Deputy Director of the People’s Congress has been removed from office, a Vice Chairman of the Political Consultative Conference is under investigation, and a Vice President of the Tourism Bureau has been expelled from the party. Analysts believe that the cleansing of Guilin officials may involve the interests of the Zhao family, as Zhao Leqin, the brother of the Chairman of the NPC Zhao Leji, once governed Guilin for eight years from February 2, 2013, to February 9, 2021.
In early June, Tang Xiuxuan, a member of the Party Committee and Vice Director of the Guilin Municipal People’s Congress, was suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and is currently under investigation by the Autonomous Region Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision.
Public records show that Tang Xiuxuan, a local official from Guangxi, served as the Deputy Minister of the Guilin Municipal Party Committee Organization Department (at the level of director), Secretary of the Diecai District Committee of Guilin, Vice Chairman of the Guilin Municipal Political Consultative Conference, and Vice Director of the Standing Committee of the Guilin Municipal People’s Congress since 2021. Prior to that, Tang Xiuxuan held positions such as Secretary of the Party Committee in Gaoshang Town and Rongjiang Town of Xing’an County in Guangxi, Member of the Standing Committee of the Quanzhou County Committee, Minister of the Organization Department, and Deputy Secretary of the Quanzhou County Committee.
Guilin Tourism Investment Co., Ltd. is a state-owned enterprise directly under the Guilin Municipal Government. On May 22, the board of directors of Guilin Tourism Co., Ltd. announced the removal of all positions held by Lin Yi, a director and vice president of Guilin Tourism, who was placed under investigation and subsequently expelled from the party on December 6, 2023, and May 14 this year, respectively.
Records show that Lin Yi worked within the Guilin tourism system from March 2004 until his removal in May this year, holding positions such as Chief Economic Officer and Operations Director of the company, Secretary of the Party Committee, Chairman, and General Manager of Guilin Liangjiang Sihu Tourism Co., Ltd., Director of Guilin Longsheng Hot Spring Tourism Co., Ltd., Member of the Party Committee, Director, and Vice President of Guilin Tourism Company. As of the end of the first quarter of this year, Lin Yi held 7000 shares of Guilin Tourism stock, making him one of the few high-ranking executives in the company to hold shares. According to Guilin Tourism’s 2022 annual report, Lin Yi received a total pre-tax compensation of 251,500 yuan from the company.
Previously, Zhang Xijun, the former Deputy Chairman of the Guilin Tourism Development Corporation, was under investigation for serious violations of discipline and law by the Guilin Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection on October 31, 2023. However, Zhang Xijun’s personal information cannot be found.
In June 2010, as the representative of state-owned equity, Zhang Xijun was recommended by the Guilin Tourism Development Corporation to join the board of directors of Guilin Tourism, serving as the Chairman of the company. He retired in October 2014 when reaching retirement age, and nine years after retirement, he was investigated.
In addition, another former senior executive of Guilin Tourism has been removed from office. According to the Guilin Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, on December 1, 2023, Li Feiying, the Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Guilin Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd., was investigated for serious violations of discipline and law. Personal information about Li Feiying cannot be found on the official website.
However, Epoch Times reporters discovered that Li Feiying’s name appeared in the annual reports of Guilin Tourism for 2020 and 2021. The 2020 report stated that Guilin Tourism suffered a loss of about 226 million yuan, and Li Feiying was the Chairman of Guilin Tourism at the time, with a total pre-tax compensation of 361,400 yuan from the company.
In the 2021 annual report released by Guilin Tourism, it was shown that Guilin Tourism incurred a loss of 213 million yuan, and Chairman Li Feiying received a total pre-tax compensation of 358,300 yuan from the company.
According to the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of the CCP, on May 8, Zhang Xiulong, the former Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region People’s Congress, was arrested on suspicion of bribery. Zhang Xiulong was investigated on October 23, 2023, for serious violations of discipline and law and was later prosecuted for bribery.
Public records show that Zhang Xiulong served as the Deputy Secretary of the Guilin Municipal Party Committee and Mayor of Guilin since 2006, concurrently serving as the Secretary of the Lai Bin Municipal Party Committee. From 2013 to 2022, he held positions such as Vice Chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Political Consultative Conference, Party Group Member, Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress, and Deputy Party Secretary. Previously, Zhang Xiulong also held positions such as Deputy Secretary of the Nanning Municipal Committee of Guangxi, Executive Commissioner, Deputy Secretary, and Mayor of the Chongzuo Municipal Committee.
Moreover, Lu Zhicheng, the former member of the Party Committee and Vice Chairman of the Guilin Municipal Committee of Political Consultative Conference, was investigated and expelled from the party in January this year for serious violations of discipline and law.
Public records show that Lu Zhicheng had been working in Guangxi’s Guanyang County since 1982, serving as a Member of the Standing Committee of the Guanyang County Committee, Director of the County Committee Office, Deputy County Governor, until being transferred to Pingxiang County in Guangxi in 2001 as Deputy County Chief, County Chief, Party Group Member, Member of the Standing Committee, Director of the Propaganda Department, Party Secretary of the County Committee, and level-one researcher of Pingxiang County. From 2020, Lu Zhicheng served as a Member of the Party Committee and Vice Chairman of the Guilin Municipal Committee of Political Consultative Conference.
Furthermore, on October 23, 2023, Wei Rongheng, the former director of the Yongfu County Hospital in Guilin, was under investigation for serious violations of discipline and law. In June 2023, Zeng Liang, the former Party Committee Secretary and Director of the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau of Guilin, was investigated for serious violations of discipline and law, and was expelled from the party five months later. On May 29 this year, the Xing’an County People’s Court in Guilin held a trial for Zeng Liang’s bribery case.
Political commentator Li Yanming told Epoch Times that Zhao Leqin’s brother, Zhao Leqin, had been in charge of Guilin for eight years from 2013 to 2021. Most of the officials in Guilin who have fallen from grace since last year are Zhao Leqin’s former subordinates, and many of them are involved in critical sectors of Guilin’s interests, such as Guilin Investment Holding Group, Guilin Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, and Guilin Tourism Development Corporation. The areas being purged supposedly relate to the Zhao family’s vested interests.
Zhao Leqin had a long tenure in Shaanxi, serving as Deputy Director of the Transport Bureau of Shaanxi’s Shangluo District, Deputy Commissioner of the Administration for several years, Director of the Finance Bureau, and Tax Bureau. In 2001, he became Deputy Director of the Transport Department of Shaanxi, then Deputy Secretary and Mayor of Hanzhong City in 2005. The two brothers were referred to as the “Two Zhaos of Shaanxi.”
Starting from 2008, Zhao Leqin was transferred to Guangxi and successively served as the Secretary of the Hezhou Municipal Committee and the Chongzuo Municipal Committee. From 2013 to 2021, Zhao Leqin served as the Secretary of the Guilin Municipal Party Committee and Director of the Municipal People’s Congress, and from 2018 to 2021, he concurrently held positions as Vice Chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region People’s Congress Standing Committee, Party Group Member, Vice Director of the People’s Congress, and Deputy Party Secretary.