Guangdong People's Congress vice chairman Zhang Shuofu under investigation
In short
Zhang Shuofu (张硕辅), a vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress and a member of its leading Party group, is suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and is under disciplinary review and supervisory investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission, the commission's website announced on October 8. Zhang, born in August 1965, was Guangzhou party secretary from July 2018 until the end of 2021 and earlier served as discipline inspection secretary in Yunnan and Beijing.
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Zhang Shuofu (张硕辅), a member of the leading Party group and vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress, is suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and is under disciplinary review and supervisory investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission. The commission's website announced the investigation on October 8, according to China News Service and Jiemian. CLS, Yicai, Caixin and Xinhua also reported it. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
Jiemian described Zhang as the first "tiger" to be investigated after the National Day holiday. It reported that two "tigers" in Guangdong have been placed under investigation in nearly 20 days: on September 21 the commission's website announced that Qin Weizhong (覃伟中), a member of the leading Party group of the Guangdong People's Congress Standing Committee and formerly mayor of Shenzhen, was under investigation for suspected serious violations of discipline and law. [ 7 ]
Caixin reported that Zhang's last public appearance was on September 28, when the 27th session of the 14th Guangdong Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee was held in Guangzhou. The session lasted two days; Zhang did not attend the second day, and official reports issued after it closed on September 29 did not mention him. Jiemian, citing Guangdong media, reported that his name was missing from the list of leaders attending the session, and that the Guangdong People's Congress website lists his last public activity as attending a reception at the Brazilian Consulate General in Guangzhou on September 4. [ 4 , 7 ]
Zhang was born in August 1965; Caixin gave his age as 61 and described him as an official from the water conservancy system. He entered 武汉水利电力学院 in Wuhan at 16 in 1981 and earned a master's degree in river engineering. After graduating in 1988 he joined the Dongting Lake water conservancy engineering bureau in Hunan, rising to deputy head. Jiemian reported that he worked in Hunan for 27 years: he became deputy director of the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters office in 1995, deputy head of the provincial water resources department in 2000, deputy party secretary of Yiyang from 2003 to 2005, and then head of the water resources department. [ 4 , 7 ]
In 2008 Zhang became mayor of Loudi, at the time the youngest prefecture-level mayor in Hunan, according to Jiemian; three years later he became party secretary of Yongzhou, and in 2013, before turning 48, he became a vice governor of Hunan. He was appointed discipline inspection secretary of Yunnan in April 2015 and of Beijing at the end of 2016, and in July 2018 became Guangzhou party secretary. He was removed from the Guangzhou post at the end of 2021, moved to the Guangdong People's Congress, and was elected vice chairman of its Standing Committee in 2022. Caixin's headline linked the end of his time in Guangzhou to a tree-felling controversy but gave no details in the available text. [ 4 , 7 ]
Why it matters
Zhang previously led Guangzhou's party committee and headed discipline commissions in Yunnan and Beijing. Jiemian described him as the first "tiger" investigated after the National Day holiday and reported that he is the second member of the Guangdong People's Congress Standing Committee's leading Party group to be placed under investigation in nearly 20 days, after former Shenzhen mayor Qin Weizhong (覃伟中) on September 21.
Key facts
- Zhang Shuofu, vice chairman of the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee, is under investigation. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
- The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission are conducting a disciplinary review and supervisory investigation into Zhang for suspected serious violations of discipline and law. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
- The investigation was announced on October 8 on the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission. [ 2 , 6 , 7 ]
- Zhang was a member of the Guangdong provincial Party standing committee and Guangzhou party secretary from July 2018 until he was removed from the Guangzhou post at the end of 2021. [ 7 ]
- He served as discipline inspection secretary in Yunnan from April 2015 and in Beijing from the end of 2016. [ 7 ]
- Zhang was born in August 1965 and began his career in Hunan's water conservancy system. [ 4 , 7 ]
- Jiemian reported that on September 21 Qin Weizhong, a member of the leading Party group of the Guangdong People's Congress Standing Committee and former Shenzhen mayor, was also placed under investigation. [ 7 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Zhang Shuofu is suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and is under disciplinary review and supervisory investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
- The investigation was announced on October 8. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
- Zhang previously served as Guangzhou party secretary. [ 4 , 7 ]
- Zhang studied river engineering at 武汉水利电力学院 in Wuhan and began work in 1988 at the Dongting Lake water conservancy engineering bureau in Hunan, rising to deputy head. [ 4 , 7 ]
- Zhang was not mentioned in reports on the session of the Guangdong People's Congress Standing Committee that closed on September 29. [ 4 , 7 ]
Still unclear
- What violations Zhang is suspected of. None of the reports give details of the alleged violations.
- When Zhang last appeared in public. Caixin reported his last public appearance was on September 28 at the Standing Committee session, while Jiemian reported that the Guangdong People's Congress website lists his last public activity as a reception at the Brazilian Consulate General in Guangzhou on September 4.
- Whether a tree-felling controversy ended his time as Guangzhou party secretary. Only Caixin's headline links his departure from the Guangzhou post to a tree-felling controversy; the available article text gives no details.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- CLS reports that Zhang Shuofu is under investigation. [ 1 ]
- China News Service reports the investigation, citing the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission. [ 2 ]
- Caixin reports the investigation with details of Zhang's recent appearances and early career. [ 4 ]
- Xinhua reports that Zhang is under review and investigation. [ 5 ]
- Jiemian publishes a profile of Zhang's career and notes the earlier investigation of Qin Weizhong. [ 7 ]
- China News Service carries a Beijing dispatch on the official announcement. [ 8 ]