After nearly a year of investigation, the Chinese Communist Party internet celebrity official Zhu Shixi was expelled from the party and dismissed from public office on April 27.
According to the report released by the Henan Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision on April 27, former Secretary of the Nanyang City Committee Zhu Shixi was expelled from the party and removed from office for serious “violations of discipline and law.”
The report stated that Zhu Shixi was indulged in officialdom, associated with political swindlers, conducted wasteful and harmful “political achievements projects,” engaged in superstitious activities, failed to report personal matters as required, sought benefits for others and accepted bribes in cadre selection and appointment work, accepted gifts, money, and shopping cards, reimbursed expenses that should have been paid personally, abused power, interfered in judicial activities, engaged in bribery, and used his position for personal gain illegally by obtaining substantial amounts of money.
At the age of 59, Zhu Shixi previously worked in the Communist Youth League Committee of Zhengzhou City in Henan Province. Later, he served as a member of the Standing Committee and Minister of Propaganda of Xingyang City, Deputy Secretary of the Dengfeng City Committee, Director of the Mount Song Scenic Area Management Committee, and District Head of Erqi District in Zhengzhou City. In December 2011, he became Deputy Mayor of Zhengzhou City and the following year was appointed Deputy Minister of the Henan Provincial Party Committee Organization Department.
In December 2017, Zhu Shixi was transferred to Deputy Secretary of the Zhoukou City Committee and Acting Mayor, and confirmed as Mayor in January the following year. In July 2021, Zhu Shixi was appointed Secretary of the Nanyang City Committee, a position he held until being officially investigated in May 2024.
During his nearly three-year tenure in Nanyang, Zhu Shixi, also known as a “internet celebrity official,” attracted attention for his high-profile speeches. Last year, he sparked public discussion for attending a meeting with an intravenous needle still inserted in his arm.
According to local news reports in Nanyang, Zhu Shixi attended a work meeting at the beginning of last year with the intravenous needle just removed, an act that was questioned for its potentially staged nature. The practice of leaving the needle in place is recommended by clinical nurses to avoid needle reinsertion when receiving consecutive intravenous fluids.
The Fifth Central Inspection Team of the Chinese Communist Party is currently stationed in Henan Province. Just on April 21, Jin Hao, the former Deputy Secretary of the Nanyang City Committee and Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee working with Zhu Shixi, was investigated while in office.
Furthermore, following Zhu Shixi’s investigation, other officials including Zhang Qilin, former Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Nanyang Municipal People’s Congress, Gao Xianxin, former Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Municipal People’s Congress, and Zhang Mingti, former Deputy Secretary and Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee of the Nanyang Municipal Party Committee, have also been investigated.