Recently, several sources informed Chinese media that Tian Zhiqiang, the Party Secretary of Qionghai City in Hainan, was taken away by relevant authorities. Tian Zhiqiang, who holds the rank of department chief, previously served as the secretary of Luo Baoming, the former Party Secretary of Hainan Province who fell from power.
According to reports by The Paper, local residents of Qionghai City revealed that on the afternoon of October 18, Tian Zhiqiang was taken away, and his residence at Qionghai Guesthouse was also searched.
Staff at the Qionghai Guesthouse confirmed that Tian Zhiqiang indeed lived in the dormitory building of the guesthouse and was taken away, but they were unaware of what had happened.
In July this year, after Luo Baoming, the former Party Secretary of Hainan Province, was investigated by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, there have been continuous rumors of Tian Zhiqiang also being implicated.
Insiders revealed that Tian Zhiqiang was brought from Tianjin by Luo Baoming after his transfer to Hainan and had served as Luo’s secretary for many years. Tian Zhiqiang’s investigation is mainly related to the case of Luo Baoming, who has already fallen from power. After Luo Baoming’s investigation, Tian Zhiqiang was summoned for questioning by the relevant authorities multiple times, and he had returned to work after the previous interrogations.
The last public report on Tian Zhiqiang’s activities in Hainan was on the morning of October 17, when he chaired the 48th collective study session of the Qionghai City Party Committee’s Theoretical Learning Center. Local media reports showed that Tian Zhiqiang looked unwell that day, wearing long-sleeved thick clothing in the weather ranging from 23 to 29 degrees Celsius, while most other male attendees wore short sleeves or thin shirts.
His public resume indicates that Tian Zhiqiang is from Zouxian, Shandong, and had long served in the Tianjin Municipal Party Committee’s Propaganda Department. Since May 2004, he has held various positions in Hainan Provincial Party Committee’s General Office, such as secretary, deputy director, deputy secretary-general, and director of the Provincial Party Committee’s financial and economic leadership office. In 2021, he was transferred from the Party Secretary of Tunchang County to the Party Secretary of Qionghai City.
Previously, Luo Baoming had also served in Tianjin, becoming a member of the Tianjin Municipal Party Committee and the Minister of the Propaganda Department of the CPC in 1997. In 2001, he was transferred to Hainan Province as the Deputy Party Secretary and subsequently held positions such as Governor and Party Secretary of the Province until stepping down in 2017. In July this year, Luo Baoming voluntarily turned himself in for suspected “serious violations of discipline and law.”
Earlier media reports suggest that Luo Baoming was considered a close confidant and staunch supporter of the late former CCP leader Jiang Zemin. In 2015, Jiang Zemin visited Hainan’s Dongshan Ridge with three generations of his family accompanied by Luo Baoming, which was seen as a signal of “comeback to power in the East,” challenging Xi Jinping’s authority.