Former Deputy Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee and Director Dong Yunhu has stood trial for bribery. In the case heard on June 27, Dong was accused of illegally accepting over 148 million yuan in cash and gifts from 2002 to 2023 by abusing his position to provide assistance in financing, land transfers, corporate operations, and personnel arrangements for various entities and individuals.
Dong Yunhu fell from power in July 2023, leading to the handling of several officials associated with him. This includes officials who served with him in Tibet and Shanghai before his downfall.
During his tenure in Tibet from 2011 to 2015, Dong Yunhu held positions such as Deputy Secretary of the Tibet Party Committee and Minister of Propaganda. He moved to Shanghai in August 2015 as a member of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and Minister of Propaganda. Following his departure, Jiang Jie took over as the Minister of Propaganda in Tibet and was subsequently investigated on July 3, 2023.
In the official ranks during Dong’s time in Tibet, Wu Yingjie, the then Deputy Secretary of Tibet, recently fell from his position as Party Secretary. Furthermore, Yang Jinshan, a former member of the Tibet Party Committee and military commander, was expelled from the party in 2014.
After transferring to Shanghai, Dong served as a member of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, Head of the Propaganda Department, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Political Consultative Conference, and Director of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress. During Dong’s tenure as the Minister of the Shanghai Municipal Propaganda Department from 2015 to 2018, Cheng Feng was the Deputy General Manager of the Shanghai Press Group and later became the Chairman of The Paper in 2018. Cheng Feng was under Dong’s supervision.
On the day after Dong Yunhu’s downfall on July 13, 2023, Cheng Feng was also investigated. Subsequent reports in June 2024 indicated that Xiaoxing, a member of the China Pacific Insurance Group Co., Ltd., who was attending a Party training course at the National University of Defense Technology, was taken away for investigation on the same day Dong Yunhu was removed from office. Six days later, on July 18, 2023, Xiaoxing was officially ousted.
According to sources, Xiaoxing’s disappearance may be related to the upheaval in the Shanghai political and propaganda system or involve an investment project in Jiangxi, which was connected to Dong Yunhu and Cheng Feng’s cases.
Reports suggest a close relationship between Xiaoxing and Cheng Feng. As the Deputy General Manager of the Shanghai Press Group, Cheng Feng oversaw infrastructure projects and external investments. Xiaoxing may have had a vested interest in the fund investment managed by Cheng Feng, with speculation suggesting that Xiaoxing, originally from Jiangxi, had ties to the troubled investment project in the region.
Additionally, following Dong Yunhu’s downfall, his mistress and host of Shanghai TV’s Oriental Satellite TV, Liu Yibing, was also taken away. It was alleged that with Dong’s assistance, Liu Yibing was appointed as a member of the Shanghai Political Consultative Conference. Public records show Liu Yibing served as a member of the 13th and 14th Shanghai Political Consultative Conference.
Dong Yunhu was subject to disciplinary measures in December 2023 and officially arrested on December 29. Accusations against him included bribery, abuse of power in appointing political consultative conference members, involvement in illicit activities, interference in judicial activities, and engaging in corrupt practices. These allegations correlate with previous disclosures about Dong Yunhu’s actions.
Dong Yunhu was once the Deputy Director of the Information Office of the State Council. He was known as one of the earliest scholars within the Chinese Communist Party system to promote and research Communist “human rights.” Dong played a key role in drafting the CCP’s initial “Human Rights White Paper,” which aimed to glorify the party’s human rights record.