【Epoch Times, April 30, 2025】Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official Wu Qixiu, the Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the Ministry of Finance and Director of the Rural Revitalization Office, was recently confirmed to have fallen from grace. Chinese media revealed the reasons behind Wu Qixiu’s investigation, pointing to his involvement in the political and business circles in Hunan province.
On the evening of April 28, the CCP officially announced that Wu Qixiu, the Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the Ministry of Finance, is under investigation for “serious violations of discipline and law.”
As early as the evening of the 25th, news of Wu Qixiu being taken away and images of him being arrested had already spread widely on the internet.
At 59 years old, Wu Qixiu, a native of Lianyuan, Hunan, has focused his career in Hunan and within the Ministry of Finance. He rose to fame in his early years as the “top student village official” graduating from Peking University, becoming a model figure within the CCP system. However, since his appointment as the Secretary of the Communist Youth League of Hunan Province in 2004, Wu Qixiu remained at the department level for 21 years and only had one lateral transfer after joining the Ministry of Finance.
According to Caixin’s report on April 30, Wu Qixiu was taken away by staff from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CCP from the Ministry of Finance compound around one or two in the afternoon on April 25. Multiple sources confirmed that he was taken from his office.
Wu Qixiu served as the Director of the Supervision and Inspection Bureau of the Ministry of Finance of the CCP from 2011 for five years before assuming the role of Director of the Department of Agriculture. He held this position until he was investigated while in office. Informed sources speculate that this may have been a signal that his problems had been discovered earlier.
Caixin pointed out that Wu Qixiu’s downfall could be related to corruption during his time in Hunan and the Ministry of Finance. According to insiders, Wu Qixiu operated with an undisclosed illness for many years in Hunan, maintaining a certain relationship between officialdom and business, possibly involving private entrepreneurs from his hometown of Lianyuan. During his 23 years of service in Hunan, Wu Qixiu had deep connections with many fellow Lianyuan locals, notably with Deng Dihua, former Director of the Loudi City Development and Reform Commission, and Xiao Anjiang, the CEO of Hunan Wujiang Petrochemical Group Co., Ltd.
Deng Dihua and Xiao Anjiang are relatives, and Wu Qixiu may have enjoyed Deng Dihua’s support in his rise from Lianyuan to the Development and Reform Commission of Loudi City, with Xiao Anjiang being the financial backer. After Wu Qixiu was transferred to the Ministry of Finance, he was to some extent regarded as the spokesperson for Lianyuan-related interests in Beijing.
Insiders revealed that Xiao Anjiang had been investigated several times in recent years and managed to extricate himself after paying hefty penalties, with the issues possibly related to real estate projects. Wujiang Group has developed numerous properties in Changsha, with one controversial project being the Yuexiang International Trade City in Xiangtan City.
In August 2017, Mo Jiancheng, the former leader of the Discipline Inspection Team of the CCP’s Central Commission stationed in the Ministry of Finance, was investigated. In January 2019, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison for bribery.
Insiders claim that Wu Qixiu often dined with individuals like Mo Jiancheng and hosted banquets with local finance bureau officials, eating and drinking together, which eventually led to disciplinary action against him. Although he was considered for promotion to Deputy Minister early on, the advancement never materialized. After the disciplinary action, he essentially became isolated, having an aged profile and unable to operate elsewhere, thus remaining in the same position for many years.
According to insiders, Wu Qixiu’s reputation at the Ministry of Finance was mediocre. There was a noticeable disparity in his treatment from his time in Hunan to the Ministry of Finance. It was said that in the local region, once he draped his coat over his shoulders, someone would be ready to take it. However, within the Ministry of Finance, no one paid him any attention after he did the same action.
Some insiders indicated that Wu Qixiu’s investigation was linked to corruption in agricultural subsidies.
Former Chinese media personnel Luo Changping posted on an overseas platform on April 28, suggesting that this case was a joint effort between the Heilongjiang Supervisory Commission and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CCP, as hinted by the blue-shirted individuals from the northeast in the photos circulating online; this likely involves agricultural projects and financial funds in the Northeast.
In recent years, numerous officials related to agricultural corruption within the CCP have been brought down. In September 2019, Lu Guimin, the Director of the Agricultural Land Construction Management Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, was investigated. In May 2024, Tang Renjian, the former Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the CCP, was also investigated after holding the position since 2020.
Regarding Wu Qixiu’s case, Luo Changping also mentioned that this round is targeting the Xiang clique within the officialdom, with many old cases resurfacing.
Over the past year, many prominent figures from Hunan within the CCP have been ousted, including Jiang Chaoliang, the former Secretary of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee, Zhou Derui, former member of the Tianjin Municipal Committee and Minister of the Organization Department, Li Weiwei, former Chairman of the Hunan Provincial Political Consultative Conference, and Jin Xiangjun, former Governor of Shanxi Province. Xu Dazhe, former Secretary of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee, has been missing for a long period. Additionally, Li Ganjie from Hunan no longer holds the position of Minister of the Central Organizational Department, having been transferred to the Minister of the United Front Work Department.
Independent commentator Cai Shenkun commented on the platform, remarking that the crackdown on officials from Hunan within the CCP is highly intense. Authorities have maintained a high level of vigilance against officials of Hunan descent who tend to band together. In the past decade, nearly all Hunanese officials have been pushed out of the political stage, eliminating the influence of the Xiang clique, touted during the Hu-Wen period. Among the 376 members of the Central Committee of the 20th CCP Congress, only 10 were from Hunan, with Li Ganjie being the lone Hunanese among the 24 members of the Political Bureau. In contrast, historically, representatives from Hunan had a significant presence within the CCP.