Recently, the Communist Party’s Xi’an Municipal Committee Secretary, Fang Hongwei, was officially taken down from his position due to allegations of serious violations of discipline and law. Being a close associate of Xi Jinping and also an alma mater of Tsinghua University, this case has sparked widespread attention. There are reports suggesting that the Fang Hongwei case may involve a corruption network related to Xi Jinping’s younger brother, Xi Yuanping.
According to the website of the Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection on the evening of November 7th, Fang Hongwei, a member of the Standing Committee of the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Xi’an Municipal Party Committee, is suspected of “serious violations of discipline and law” and is currently undergoing disciplinary review and supervision investigation. In the days prior, Fang Hongwei had been absent from several important occasions consecutively.
Sources cited by Hong Kong’s Ming Pao newspaper reported that on November 5th, Fang Hongwei was supposed to conduct research on religious work in Xi’an but was intercepted and taken away by personnel from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection midway.
Information circulating on overseas social media platforms indicates that during the research visit to Guanyin Temple in Chang’an District, Fang Hongwei was unexpectedly taken away, with witnesses claiming he appeared “pale-faced, legs trembling, and even wetting his pants on the spot.” His personal secretary, confidential secretary, security personnel, and duty secretary were all simultaneously detained, while his wife was also placed under control by the Shaanxi Commission for Discipline Inspection.
Significantly, in the communique of the Fourth Plenary Session of the Communist Party, Fang Hongwei was one of seven officials who were “passed over” for promotion. According to convention, vacancies among Central Committee members should be filled based on the ranking of alternate Central Committee members. However, in this case, including Fang Hongwei, several highly ranked alternate Central Committee members were skipped over.
Public records show that Fang Hongwei, born in June 1966, hails from the same hometown as Xi Jinping in Fuping, Shaanxi. He graduated from the Department of Automotive Engineering at Tsinghua University and is an alum of Tsinghua along with Xi Jinping. He had a long career at the Shaanxi Automobile Manufacturing General Factory, becoming the General Manager of Shaanxi Automobile Group in 2002 and Chairman in 2008.
After 2015, Fang Hongwei transitioned into executive roles, serving as a member of the Standing Committee of the Baoji Municipal Party Committee, Weinan Municipal Party Committee, Mayor of Hanzhong, and Secretary of the Municipal Committee. In May 2021, he was appointed as a member of the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee and Secretary-General, then in November of the same year, as a member of the Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Xi’an Municipal Party Committee, also becoming an alternate member of the 20th Central Committee.
Sources claim that not only is Fang Hongwei implicated in corruption himself, but he also tolerated and tacitly allowed his relatives to exploit his influence for personal gain. “The local business community knows that Fang Hongwei’s wife and sister have a big appetite.”
Rumors in the public domain suggest that the Fang Hongwei case may involve Yao Lijun, a member of the Xi’an Municipal Committee and Minister of the Propaganda Department. Regarding the handling of Fang Hongwei, China affairs expert Zhang Tianliang analyzed in the program “Tianliang on Politics” that Fang Hongwei faces a dilemma: if he does not expose Xi Yuanping, Xi Yuanping may secretly protect him; however, if Xi Yuanping is exposed, Xi Jinping is unlikely to protect his younger brother, leading to Xi Yuanping distancing himself from Fang Hongwei, making Fang Hongwei’s situation even more perilous. He believes that the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection is unlikely to truly implicate Xi Yuanping in the case; even if they do, Xi Jinping might at most issue a warning to Xi Yuanping to resolve the matter.
Fang Hongwei’s promotion was directly related to the Deputy Prime Minister of the State Council of the Communist Party, Liu Guozhong. It remains to be seen whether this case will implicate Liu Guozhong and if it will spread to Zhao Yide, Secretary of Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee, requiring ongoing observation.
According to the whistleblower Jiang Wangzheng (Yin Ke) recently on his personal YouTube channel, the Fang Hongwei case involves Yao Lijun, a member of the Xi’an Municipal Committee and Minister of the Propaganda Department. Yao Lijun previously served as the Chairman of the Xi’an Qujiang Cultural Industry Investment Co., Ltd., and is suspected of large-scale corruption.
Based on public information, in February of this year, a communique from the Office of the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee of the Communist Party titled “A Briefing on the Serious Violations of Discipline and Law by Yao Lijun and its Lessons and Warnings” revealed that Yao Lijun, a member of the Xi’an Municipal Committee and Minister of the Propaganda Department, had committed serious violations of discipline and law.
Zhang Tianliang, in the program “Tianliang on Politics,” quoted sources stating that shortly after being taken away, Yao Lijun was initially extremely arrogant, claiming to be a loyal follower of Xi Yuanping. It is rumored that the money from Yao’s corruption was distributed in a proportion of “60%-20%-20”: 60% to Xi Yuanping, 20% to Fang Hongwei, and 20% retained for himself. Yao Lijun once transferred 180 million Hong Kong dollars to Fang Hongwei’s Hong Kong account, suggesting that Xi Yuanping received at least 540 million Hong Kong dollars according to this ratio.
Online rumors suggest that after Yao Lijun came under investigation, the 15th Central Inspection Team of the Communist Party entered Shaanxi in July to re-examine the case, uncovering Fang Hongwei behind the scenes. It is said that Yao Lijun never mentioned Xi Yuanping at first, but after the incident, he “kept mentioning Xi Yuanping” in hopes of gaining protection. He saved every task assigned by Xi Yuanping and Fang Hongwei on WeChat and kept the documents exchanged between Xi Yuanping, Vice Premier of the State Council Liu Guozhong, and himself. There are rumors that Fang Hongwei’s wife operates three foreign exchange companies in Hong Kong.