In the past 3 months, 8 senior Communist Party officials in Hebei Province have been investigated successively, all of whom have ties to Tangshan City, with many having worked in the renowned mineral-rich county of Qianxi. Insider sources revealed that the abundant mineral resources in Tangshan have allowed some CCP officials to amass wealth rapidly through mineral trading, monopolizing these resources and subsequently selling shares of mining enterprises.
On July 1st, the Hebei Province Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision announced that Hou Xu, member of the Tangshan City Party Committee and Secretary of Caofeidian District, is under scrutiny and investigation.
This marks the 8th report of a provincial-level official being investigated by the Hebei Province Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision since April 5, 2024. It is noteworthy that all 8 officials investigated are related to Tangshan City.
Similar to the recently investigated two deputy mayors of Tangshan City, Hou Xu was also caught while in office. Public records show that Hou Xu was born in September 1970 in Qian’an, Hebei. He served as Deputy Director of the Qian’an City Party Committee Research Office in 1999, climbing the ranks to become a member of the city party committee and director of the office. In 2016, Hou Xu moved to Luan Nan County before being appointed as Deputy Party Secretary and District Head of Fengrun District in Tangshan City in 2019. In January 2021, he became Deputy Party Secretary and District Head of Caofeidian District, quickly rising to District Party Secretary and subsequently a member of the Tangshan City Party Committee, attaining the rank of bureau-level official.
Prior to Hou Xu, other bureau-level officials who were investigated include Li Guifu, former Party Secretary of Qianxi County, Li Jianzhong, Deputy Mayor of Tangshan City, Guo Yanhong, former Director of the Tangshan City People’s Congress Standing Committee, Yang Jie, Party Secretary and Director of the Tangshan City People’s Congress Standing Committee, Sun Guishi, former Party Secretary of Tangshan Normal College, and Hao Zhijun, Deputy Mayor of Tangshan City.
Furthermore, Han Guoqiang, a member of the Communist Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Hebei Provincial Development and Reform Commission, was also investigated. Public records show that Han Guoqiang, born in 1967, had held positions such as Deputy District Head of Gu Ye District in Tangshan City, Deputy Party Secretary and Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of Caofeidian District, and Party Secretary of Qian’an City.
Tangshan City, located in the eastern part of Hebei Province, boasts a favorable geographical position and convenient transportation, making it one of the important cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. The city is rich in mineral resources, with steel production ranking first in China, earning it the title of “China’s Steel City”. Over the years, Tangshan City has maintained its position as the largest economy in Hebei Province.
Many of the officials who fell from grace had previously worked in Qianxi County, including Li Jianzhong, Li Guifu, and Hao Zhijun.
Qianxi County, situated in the eastern part of Hebei Province, is the only pure mountainous county in Tangshan City. The county is known for its abundant mineral resources, with approximately 11 types of solid mineral resources already discovered.
Among the 8 investigated individuals, several have connections to Caofeidian District. Apart from the current Party Secretary of Caofeidian District, Hou Xu, Yang Jie, Sun Guishi, and Han Guoqiang had also worked in Caofeidian District. Caofeidian District, located in the central area of the Bohai Sea, in the southern part of Tangshan City, bordered by Beijing and Tianjin, facing the Bohai Sea, and across the sea from Dalian, Yantai, as well as North Korea and South Korea. In Tangshan City, the economic performance of Caofeidian District stands out.
Simultaneously, the Hebei Province Committee of the Communist Party has initiated a special inspection in the field of mineral resources, conducting specific inspections in 8 districts and cities with solid mineral mountains, including Tangshan.
On July 5th, former mainland media practitioner Zhao Lanjian revealed in an interview with Epoch Times reporters that the abundant mineral resources in Tangshan have allowed some CCP officials to amass wealth rapidly through mineral trading. Their most common method is monopolizing certain mineral resources, then selling shares of these mining enterprises.
Zhao Lanjian stated, “Some mines can even be left unexploited, just by owning their equity or relevant policy procedures, they can be sold to the capital market or other segments involving state-owned systems, which is very profitable. Cities like Tangshan and Qianxi County, their most important resource is mineral resources.”
The Chairman of the National Committee of the China Democracy Party, Wang Juntao, also told Epoch Times reporters that the recent rigorous investigation of Tangshan officials by the CCP authorities does not mean that corruption is absent in other regions. In his view, corruption issues exist in other regions as well, with authorities yet to launch large-scale rectification actions. He believes that the CCP’s crackdown on Tangshan officials is related to the central financial situation, as the authorities lack funds, hence intensifying their enforcement efforts in economically crucial areas.
Chinese democracy activist Wei Jingsheng has previously stated that Tangshan is a very sensitive and special area. It has a distinct characteristic where CCP central officials, especially those in the political and legal system, if they make mistakes in certain aspects but have strong backing, they often end up being relegated to Tangshan. He also mentioned that the criminal underworld in Tangshan has a very deep official background, as they usually come from the central government, the Ministry of Public Security, or the Central Guard, and ordinary people usually cannot afford to offend them.
While the investigation continues to unfold, the repercussions of the corruption scandals involving Tangshan officials have brought to light the intricate web of mineral wealth and power dynamics at play in the region. The future implications of these investigations remain to be seen.