In recent years, Yuxi, a prefecture-level city in Yunnan Province and a major tobacco industry hub known as the “Homeland of Clouds and Smoke,” has seen several officials come under investigation.
According to the website of the Discipline Inspection Commission of the Communist Party of China on August 26, Deng Hao, member of the Standing Committee of the Yuxi Municipal Committee and Secretary of the Hongta District Committee, is currently undergoing disciplinary review and investigation.
Deng, born in Yunan Huaning in August 1981, has held various positions in Yuxi City, including Deputy Director of the Development and Reform Commission, Director of the Development Planning Department, and Chief of the Secretariat of the Municipal Government. In September 2021, Deng was appointed as a member of the Yuxi Municipal Committee and Secretary of the Hongta District Committee before being investigated. Just days before his downfall on August 9, Deng chaired a meeting to discuss feedback from the provincial party committee inspection.
On August 20, Ma Jinhong, a second-level inspector of the Yuxi Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, was officially placed under investigation on suspicion of serious violations of discipline and law. Ma served as the Director of the Yunnan Yuxi City Transportation Bureau from August 2016 to December 2019 and later as the Director of the Yuxi City Water Resources Bureau from December 2019 to April 2021.
On August 12, two other Yuxi officials, Lai Zhengdong and Wang Chuan, were also announced to be under investigation. Lai Zhengdong, the former Deputy District Chief of the Hongta District Government in Yunnan Yuxi City (now retired), voluntarily surrendered. Wang Chuan, the Director of the Xingyun Lake Management Office of the Yuxi City Lake Management Bureau, voluntarily reported his involvement in serious violations of discipline and law.
Zhang Zulin, former party committee member and deputy governor of Yunnan Province, was investigated on March 1. Originally from Zhaotong, Yunnan, Zhang held various positions in the province and municipalities. He had a long career serving as Deputy Governor of Chuxiong Prefecture, Director and Party Secretary of the Yunnan Quality Supervision Bureau, Mayor of Lijiang, Mayor of Kunming, and Secretary of the Yuxi Municipal Committee. Zhang was promoted to Deputy Governor of Yunnan Province in August 2014 and served as a councilor of the Yunnan government from March 2018 to November 2022. During his five-year tenure as Mayor of Kunming from 2007 to 2012, he worked with two other officials, Qiu He and Zhang Tianxin, both of whom were subsequently removed from their positions in March 2015 and July 2014, respectively.
On January 22, Chen Jianxun, former Chairman of Yuxi Logistics Investment Co., Ltd., came under investigation. On August 27, the official Chinese media claimed that Chen was expelled from the party and dismissed from public office for concealing and not reporting his family’s real estate holdings, accepting bribes, and abusing his authority for personal gain in project contracting and fund disbursement, among other offenses.
In November 2020, Luo Yingguang, former Secretary of the Yuxi Municipal Committee in Yunnan Province, voluntarily turned himself in for investigation and was arrested on May 27, 2021, and later indicted in August of the same year.
In April 2020, Liu Wenwei, member of the Standing Committee of the Yuxi Municipal Committee and Executive Vice Mayor, underwent a review and investigation.
In February 2020, Cai Sihong, Deputy Mayor of the Yuxi Municipal Government in Yunnan Province, was also subject to a review and investigation.
Yuxi City, located in the central part of Yunnan Province with an area of approximately 15,000 square kilometers, is a major hub for the tobacco industry. The “Yuxi” brand of cigarettes produced there is one of the top four tobacco brands in Yunnan, along with “Yunyan,” “Hongtashan,” and “Honghe.”
As a leading player in China’s tobacco industry, Yunnan China Tobacco Company has had three general managers investigated – Zhang Shuizhang, Zhu Shaoming, and Zhou Tao.
In January 2024, Zhang Shuizhang, former Deputy Party Secretary and General Manager of Yunnan China Tobacco Industrial Co., Ltd., was investigated. Zhang became the first general manager of Yunnan China Tobacco in 2003 and stepped down in 2010, passing the baton to Zhu Shaoming.
Zhu Shaoming was investigated in June 2023. Born in 1958 in Yuxi, Yunnan, Zhu had a long career in the tobacco industry, serving as the CEO of Hongyun Honghe Group before becoming the general manager of Yunnan China Tobacco in August 2010. He was the second general manager of Yunnan China Tobacco and retired in 2021 after holding positions such as member of the Standing Committee of the Yunnan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and Deputy Director of the Economic and Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee. In January 2021, he retired.
In January 2022, Zhou Tao, Deputy Party Secretary and General Manager of Yunnan China Tobacco Industrial Co., Ltd., was investigated for serious violations of discipline and law and voluntarily surrendered. Zhou, born in July 1974 in Jiangsu Huaiyin, has been working in the tobacco industry. He became Deputy Party Secretary and General Manager of Yunnan China Tobacco Industrial Co., Ltd. in December 2018 and was the third general manager of Yunnan China Tobacco.
Yeli Bin, who also worked at Yunnan China Tobacco Industrial Co., Ltd., along with Zhu Shaoming, and Yao Qingyan, a former Deputy General Manager, have also been placed under investigation.