On June 25, Li Shisong, the deputy governor of Yunnan Province of the Chinese Communist Party, was placed under investigation. Prior to his downfall, rumors of Li Shisong being investigated had already circulated online in June of this year.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection announced on the 25th that Li Shisong, a member of the Standing Committee of the Yunnan Provincial Committee and the Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy Governor of the Provincial Government, is suspected of “serious violations of discipline and law” and is currently under review and investigation.
Li Shisong was last seen in public on the 13th of last month. After that, he was absent from several important meetings and events in the province. In June, news of his downfall spread on the internet in mainland China.
Li Shisong is the 36th high-ranking official to fall from grace this year and the third “tiger” in Yunnan since the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Zhang Zulin, a former deputy governor of Yunnan Province, was investigated in March after being away from office for six years; and Cui Maohu, a former deputy governor of Yunnan Province, was investigated in April.
Aged 55, Li Shisong is from Yunlong County, Yunnan, and is of Bai ethnicity. He has been working in Yunnan for a long time, holding positions such as Vice Mayor and Mayor of Qujing City Committee, Standing Committee Member of the Yunnan Provincial Committee, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Government Party Committee, Executive Vice Governor, and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee.
Recently, the officialdom of Yunnan Province has been in continued turmoil. On May 31, Sun Can, Secretary-General of the Yunnan Provincial Government and Secretary of the Office Party Committee, was also investigated. Sun had worked together with Li Shisong in the Yunnan Provincial Office.
On May 30, Chen Shigui, former Deputy Secretary of the Qujing City Committee in Yunnan, voluntarily surrendered and was removed from office. In June, Chen Shigui’s son – Chen Rui, Deputy Secretary of the Baoshan City Committee and Mayor of Yunnan Province suddenly passed away.
On April 9, Li Jinlin, Deputy Mayor of Qujing City, was investigated. Other officials in Qujing City have also been ousted, including Zou Lin, former director of the Energy Bureau, Xu Zheng, former director of the Investment Promotion Bureau, and Lv Zhengguo, director of the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau.