Recently, Liang Chao, the “chief steward” in China’s Wenzhou city in Zhejiang Province for Chen Yixin, a close associate of Xi Jinping’s “Zhejiang clique,” turned himself in. He was followed by Cheng Xiaobo, a former official at the National Development and Reform Commission and longtime subordinate of He Lifeng, a key figure in the Fujian clique.
Zhang Yigong, another former aide to He Lifeng, has also been implicated in the case involving Xiamen billionaire Lin Xiucheng.
There are also claims that Chen Xi, a long time Xi associate has been demoted to the deputy-ministerial level, while at least 30 other ministerial-level officials are reportedly waiting to be investigated. The developments appear to be increasingly targeting Xi’s political network, as a growing number of his former subordinates have fallen from power.
Chen Yixin’s ‘chief steward’ in Wenzhou, Liang Chao, ‘turns himself in’
On Aug. 14, 2026, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and National Commission of Supervision website published a notice from the Zhejiang Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision stating that Liang Chao, a member and deputy director of the Party leadership group of the Wenzhou Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee, was suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and had “turned himself in.” He is currently under investigation.
According to publicly available information, Liang Chao was born in April 1966 and is from Taizhou, Zhejiang. Beginning in August 1989, he spent most of his career working in Wenzhou, where he successively served as deputy director of the Wenzhou Municipal Development Planning Commission (Municipal Development and Reform Commission), executive deputy county magistrate of Pingyang County, director of the Wenzhou Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology, deputy secretary-general of the Wenzhou Municipal Party Committee, and director of the Municipal Party Committee Office.
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In December 2022, Liang became a member and deputy director of the Party leadership group of the Wenzhou Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee, a position he resigned from in January 2026.
Liang Chao worked in Wenzhou’s officialdom for more than 30 years. Several officials from Xi Jinping’s “Zhejiang New Army” faction also served in senior positions in Wenzhou. In addition, Wenzhou is the hometown of Li Qiang, the current member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee and Premier of the State Council, as well as Chen Yixin, China’s current minister of state security. Both also had professional ties with Liang Chao.
From April 2002 to November 2004, Li Qiang served as secretary of the Wenzhou Municipal Party Committee. During that period, in February 2003, Liang Chao was promoted from director of the Investment Division of the Wenzhou Municipal Development Planning Commission to deputy commander and Party leadership group member of the Wenzhou Peninsula Project Construction Headquarters. In March 2004, Liang was promoted again, becoming deputy director and Party committee member of the Wenzhou Municipal Development Planning Commission (Municipal Development and Reform Commission).
From June 2013 to November 2015, Chen Yixin served as secretary of the Wenzhou Municipal Party Committee. In May 2014, Liang Chao was promoted from executive deputy magistrate of Pingyang County to director and Party secretary of the Wenzhou Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology. In August 2015, he was promoted to deputy secretary-general of the Wenzhou Municipal Party Committee and director of the Municipal Party Committee Office, during which time he served as Chen Yixin’s “chief steward.”
These developments show that Liang Chao was promoted and given important positions during the tenures of both Li Qiang and Chen Yixin. In this sense, he could also be regarded as a member of Xi Jinping’s “Zhejiang New Army,” the core group of officials associated with Xi’s political network.
From August 2015 to May 2020, while serving as deputy secretary-general of the Wenzhou Municipal Party Committee and director of the Municipal Party Committee Office, Liang Chao worked under four successive Wenzhou Party secretaries: Chen Yixin, Xu Liyi (January 2016 to February 2017), Zhou Jiangyong, and Chen Weijun.
From February 2017 to May 2018, Zhou Jiangyong served as secretary of the Wenzhou Municipal Party Committee. He was later investigated and brought down in August 2021 while serving as secretary of the Hangzhou Municipal Party Committee, and in July 2023 was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve.
From May 2018 to June 2021, Chen Weijun served as secretary of the Wenzhou Municipal Party Committee. In November 2025, Chen was brought down while serving as a member of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Party Committee and executive vice chairman of the regional government. On June 8, 2026, he was expelled from the CCP and removed from public office.
Former He Lifeng aide at NDRC, Cheng Xiaobo, falls
In addition, Cheng Xiaobo, another former subordinate of He Lifeng, a senior figure in Xi’s political network and the current Chinese vice premier, has also “turned himself in.”
On Aug. 14, 2026, CCTV News, the Chinese Communist Party’s state broadcaster, reported that Cheng Xiaobo, a member of the Gansu Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee and executive vice governor of Gansu Province, was suspected of “serious violations of discipline and law.” He had “turned himself in” and was under investigation. The official announcement was also reported by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and National Commission of Supervision, according to Shobserver.
Cheng Xiaobo’s last public appearance was reportedly on May 18 and 19, 2026. According to the state-run Gansu Daily, Cheng, then a member of the Gansu Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee and executive vice governor, conducted an inspection tour in Zhouqu County. Other reporting likewise identifies his May 18–19 visit to Zhouqu as his last publicly reported official activity, The Epoch Times reported.
On May 29, Gansu Daily reported that the fourth meeting of the Gansu Provincial Party Committee Leading Group for Implementing Rectification Measures in Response to Feedback from the Central Inspection was held in Lanzhou. Several provincial leaders attended the meeting, but Cheng Xiaobo was not present.
According to publicly available information, Cheng Xiaobo is from Changzhi, Shanxi, and was born in October 1972. He entered the former State Planning Commission in the 1990s and subsequently spent more than two decades working at the National Development and Reform Commission (formerly the State Development Planning Commission). He served as president and Party secretary of China Reform Daily, director of the National Information Center, and deputy secretary-general of the NDRC, among other positions. In April 2020, Cheng became vice governor of Gansu Province. Chinese media reported at the time that he was the youngest provincial-level official in Gansu, reported Jiemian, a Chinese business and financial news outlet based in Shanghai.
Cheng Xiaobo was also a former subordinate of He Lifeng at the NDRC.
In June 2014, He Lifeng became deputy director of the NDRC and served as its director from February 2017 to March 2022. From June 2014 to April 2020, Cheng Xiaobo worked under He Lifeng, making the two colleagues at the NDRC for nearly six years. Cheng’s long career at the NDRC and his service as its deputy secretary-general are documented in multiple public profiles, according to the Epoch Times report.
Claims link He Lifeng to Wei Xiaodong case; Cai Qi to step down as General Office director?
On Aug. 16, 2026, Jiang Wangzheng, an Australia-based self-media commentator, posted on X claiming that He Lifeng, a member of the CCP Politburo and vice premier of the State Council, was implicated in the Wei Xiaodong case and was “awaiting investigation.” He also claimed that Cai Qi, a member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee and secretary of the Central Secretariat, would step down as director of the General Office of the CCP Central Committee because of his alleged involvement in the Wei Xiaodong case.
According to the post, Zhao Yide, secretary of the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee, would succeed Cai as director of the Central General Office and would be added to the CCP Politburo at this year’s Fifth Plenum.
Jiang also claimed that more than a dozen officials at or above the bureau-director level in Fujian Province had recently been summoned for questioning or placed under investigation. He further claimed that Ni Yuefeng, who was removed as secretary of the Hebei Provincial Party Committee in late July, would become secretary of the Hainan Provincial Party Committee and would be added to the CCP Politburo at this year’s Fifth Plenum.
On July 30, 2026, an X user named “Student” speculated that if Ni Yuefeng were to step down as secretary of the Hebei Provincial Party Committee, there would be only two possibilities: either he would go to Chongqing as mayor and enter the CCP Politburo at the 21st Party Congress, eventually succeeding as Chongqing Party secretary; or, like Jing Junhai and Wang Zhonglin, he would move to the National People’s Congress and be shifted into a secondary role ahead of schedule. The post argued that there was “absolutely no possibility” of Ni going to Hainan, because a provincial Party secretary of a major province would never be transferred to head a smaller province.
The reason given by Jiang Wangzheng in his latest claim was: “Hainan is being upgraded.”
The authenticity of these claims cannot currently be confirmed. However, Jiang’s allegation that more than a dozen officials at or above the department-director level in Fujian had recently been questioned or investigated inevitably draws attention to the recent turbulence in Fujian’s political circles.
Zhang Yigong and Lin Jian reportedly implicated in the Lin Xiucheng case
On Aug. 7, 2026, Chinese authorities announced that Zhang Yigong, secretary of the Quanzhou Municipal Party Committee in Fujian Province, was suspected of “serious violations of discipline and law” and was under investigation. Zhang Yigong was a former Fujian-based subordinate of He Lifeng.
On Aug. 8, Hong Kong’s Ming Pao, citing sources, reported that Zhang Yigong had been implicated in the case involving Lin Xiucheng, the former chairman of Sanan Group. The case reportedly surfaced while the CCP’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection was conducting an investigation in Chongqing. Several other Fujian officials were also said to be implicated, including a former prefecture-level mayor who had previously served in Xiamen.
Zhang Yigong’s downfall came less than a week ago.
On Aug. 12, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and National Commission of Supervision announced that Lin Jian, deputy secretary of the Nanping Municipal Party Committee and mayor of Nanping, Fujian Province, was suspected of “serious violations of discipline and law” and was under investigation. As recently as August 6, Lin Jian had personally attended and presided over the Nanping Municipal Services Industry Conference. This timing has also been reported by multiple outlets including the Epoch Times.
On Aug. 8, Cai Shenkun, an independent commentator based in the United States, posted on X claiming that Cui Yonghui, who was removed as secretary of the Xiamen Municipal Party Committee in April, had been taken away by the CCDI on the morning of Aug. 7. At the same time, Lin Jian, the mayor of Nanping, was reportedly also taken away.
Lin Jian’s investigation has since been officially confirmed, while Cui Yonghui’s current status remains unclear, according to Epoch Times.
According to Ming Pao, citing sources, Lin Jian, like Zhang Yigong, who was brought down several days earlier, was also implicated in the case involving Lin Xiucheng, the former chairman of Sanan Group. Lin Xiucheng was once Xiamen’s richest man and was also known as the “LED King of China.” In March and April this year, Lin Xiucheng, the actual controller of Sanan Group, and his son-in-law Lin Kechuang were successively detained. Chinese media reported that they were involved in a bribery case linked to former Chongqing Mayor Hu Henghua and others who had already fallen under investigation.
On July 3, 2026, independent commentator Du Zheng wrote in the Taiwan-based Up Media that private entrepreneurs in China can hardly make progress without political connections. Lin Xiucheng had long relied on the powerful Fujian political network, including Chen Xi, who was removed as president of the Central Party School in June this year. Du described the Lin Xiucheng case as another political “firebomb,” similar to the case involving Evergrande founder Xu Jiayin. Once Lin Xiucheng was detained, he would inevitably provide a long list of officials who had allegedly accepted bribes, Du wrote.
Claim: Chen Xi reduced to deputy-ministerial rank
On Aug. 15, 2026, Cai Shenkun posted on X that Chen Xi, who had controlled the CCP’s personnel and organizational affairs for more than a decade, had previously been rumored to face demotion to the deputy-department level or even expulsion from the Party and public office. In the end, however, the authorities reportedly gave him a degree of preferential treatment: he was demoted to deputy-ministerial rank and would no longer be provided with a personal service secretary.
Cai Shenkun said this punishment was even more severe than the disciplinary action imposed on Yang Jing, a former aide to deceased Chinese Premier Li Keqiang who served as secretary-general of the State Council. Yang Jing was demoted from vice-national level to ministerial level, whereas Chen Xi was reportedly demoted from vice-national level to deputy-ministerial level—effectively returning him to roughly the rank he held more than two decades ago when he served as secretary of the Tsinghua University Party Committee.
Cai Shenkun said Xi Jinping’s handling of Chen Xi was not simply about corruption. More importantly, Chen was allegedly seen as having failed to demonstrate the so-called “absolute loyalty” demanded by Xi, while also being accused of “building a small circle” and “failing to exercise proper judgment in personnel appointments.”
Chen Xi had recommended and promoted a large number of senior officials to Xi Jinping. However, many of those officials subsequently ran into trouble after the 20th National Party Congress. Some officials implicated in corruption cases were also alleged to have confessed to having bribed Chen Xi. This reportedly caused Xi’s view of Chen to change fundamentally.
After a period of deliberation, Xi ultimately decided to demote Chen Xi and impose Party disciplinary punishment, rather than go as far as expelling him from the Party and public office or transferring him to judicial authorities for prosecution. As a result, Chen Xi could reportedly retain certain special privileges in his later years, including access to special medical care.
Cai Shenkun disclosed that, compared with Chen Xi himself, a group of officials whom Chen previously promoted and entrusted with important positions may face an even harsher fate in the coming period. After the Beidaihe summer retreat concludes, a new round of high-level anti-corruption purges is expected to accelerate further, with at least 30 ministerial-level officials reportedly waiting to be investigated.
The authenticity of these claims cannot currently be independently verified.
Some users on X have described the situation as Xi Jinping’s alleged practice of “killing the donkey after it has done its job” and “burning the bridge after crossing the river.” They identified three major “功臣” (“meritorious aides”) who helped Xi consolidate power:
- Wang Qishan — helped Xi eliminate political rivals and clear obstacles, paving the way for the successful constitutional amendment.
- Zhang Youxia — helped Xi secure control over the military and provided political protection.
- Chen Xi — helped Xi arrange personnel and build a political network of officials loyal to him, often referred to as Xi’s “Zhejiang/Fujian-era political army.”
Wang Qishan has already reportedly been “cut off from his network,” with many of his former associates brought down. Zhang Youxia’s current fate remains unclear, while unfavorable reports about Chen Xi have surfaced repeatedly.
Cai Qi’s former Hangzhou aide Wu Pengfei dies suddenly
Meanwhile, Wu Pengfei, a former Hangzhou subordinate of Cai Qi, also recently died unexpectedly.
According to Shandong state media, Wu Pengfei, former procurator-general and Party secretary of the Shandong Provincial People’s Procuratorate, died on Aug. 11, 2026, at the age of 72 after medical treatment failed to save him.
From April 2007 to July 2010, Cai Qi served as mayor of Hangzhou. From April 2007 to February 2009, Wu Pengfei worked under Cai for nearly two years. According to publicly available reports from Chinese state media, Wu accompanied Cai Qi on numerous inspection tours and visits involving public petitions.
From February 2009 to September 2018, Wu Pengfei successively served as director of the Shandong Provincial Public Security Department and procurator-general of the Shandong Provincial People’s Procuratorate.
On May 9, 2013, the overseas-based Minghui website reported that while Wu Pengfei was director of the Shandong Provincial Public Security Department, numerous Falun Gong practitioners in Shandong were allegedly arrested by Chinese authorities, unlawfully detained, subjected to forced labor and sentenced to prison, with some reportedly persecuted to death.
According to the report, when Wu visited different parts of Shandong, local public-security and political-legal officials accompanied him and treated his remarks as instructions or orders, allegedly intensifying the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.
Wu Pengfei, along with the Shandong Provincial Public Security Department and Procuratorate where he served for many years, was reportedly placed on a list of individuals and institutions suspected of responsibility for the persecution by the overseas-based World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG).
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