On June 21st, Wang Hong’en, former Standing Committee member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and former Deputy Mayor of Daqing City in Heilongjiang Province, was investigated and placed under disciplinary action. Prior to Wang Hong’en’s investigation, two Party Secretaries of Daqing City had already been implicated in misconduct.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection announced on the 21st that Wang Hong’en is suspected of “serious violations of discipline and law” and is undergoing scrutiny and investigation.
At the age of 71, Wang Hong’en, a native of Shuangcheng City in Heilongjiang Province, had a long career in Daqing City. He previously served as the Secretary of the Ranghulu District Committee in Daqing City. Starting from 2000, he held positions including Deputy Mayor and Party Member of Daqing City, and in December 2006, he became a Standing Committee member of the Daqing City Committee. From April 2008, he also served as the Deputy Secretary of the Party Group of the Daqing City Government.
During Wang Hong’en’s tenure as Deputy Mayor of Daqing City, the Party Secretary was Gai Runyin, the Deputy Secretary and Mayor were Han Xuejian, the Deputy Mayor was Han Dongyan, and the Standing Committee member and Secretary General of the Municipal Party Committee was Li Zhenkun. Prior to Wang Hong’en’s investigation, all four of these officials had been implicated.
After leaving Daqing, Gai Runyin was promoted to Deputy Governor of Heilongjiang Province, and later served as the Party Secretary of Harbin City, Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Heilongjiang Provincial People’s Congress, and Secretary of the Party Group. Gai Runyin was investigated in December 2015. In 2017, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison for bribery. Official reports indicated that Gai Runyin had been involved in corruption since his time as the Party Secretary of Daqing City, and it wasn’t until he reached the deputy ministerial level that he came under investigation.
Han Xuejian, former Deputy Secretary of Daqing City, later assumed the role of Party Secretary of Daqing City and Standing Committee member of the Heilongjiang Provincial Committee, among other positions. He was investigated in December 2014 and in 2016, he was sentenced to 12 years and 6 months in prison for accepting bribes.
After leaving Daqing, Han Dongyan went on to become the Mayor of Qiqihar City, Deputy Secretary and Director of the Party Committee of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Heilongjiang Province. He was implicated in 2018.
Following his tenure in Daqing City, Li Zhenkun transferred to the Party History Research Office of the Heilongjiang Provincial Committee. He retired in November 2014 after his service in Daqing City and in October 2023, after nine years of retirement, he was investigated.