“The landscape of Inner Mongolia’s political and legal woes | Selected feature story”

By Wang Heyan

Hohhot, Baotou, and Ordos have seen over a dozen officials in the political and legal sectors fall from power. Most of them were subordinates of Xing Yun, the former secretary of the Inner Mongolia Political and Legal Affairs Committee.

[Editor’s Note: On 3 December, the Intermediate People’s Court of Dalian City, Liaoning Province, publicly announced the verdict of Xing Yun, former Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region People’s Congress, on charges of bribery. The defendant Xing Yun was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for the crime of bribery, deprived of political rights for life, and had all personal properties confiscated. After the expiration of the two-year reprieve period, the death penalty was commuted to life imprisonment, with no possibility of sentence reduction or parole. The trial found that from 1996 to 2017, Xing Yun, taking advantage of his positions as deputy secretary, secretary, and party committee secretary of Yikezhao League; party committee secretary of Baotou City; and party committee secretary of the Autonomous Region had used his authority to provide assistance to relevant units and individuals in project contracting, job adjustments, and promotions. He directly or through his close relatives illegally accepted property totalling more than 449 million CNY. For the benefit of readers, we highly recommend the cover story of “Caixin Weekly” on 25 November titled “The landscape of Inner Mongolia’s political and legal woes,” reviewing how the political and legal corruption group led by Xing Yun turned public resources into personal gain, colluded with power and money, and acted as umbrellas for criminal forces.]

Two hours had passed, but the car still hadn’t arrived. Lunchtime had come and gone, but there was still no sign of the car. Officials of all ranks, along with TV reporters, waited with him. The Minister of Transportation, who had come from Alxa, learnt that Xing Yun, the Party Secretary of Baotou City and a member of the Autonomous Region Party Committee, had waited for him for over two hours at the exit of the Baotou section of the Beijing-Tibet Expressway and had not even eaten lunch. He was greatly moved. Upon returning to Hohhot, the Minister of Transportation immediately allocated tens of billions of CNY in transportation construction funds to Baotou. During the welcoming banquet for an inspection of the second thermal power plant construction in Baotou by leaders of the State Grid Corporation, Xing Yun drank three glasses one after the other, one for every 100,000 kilowatts. As a result, the planned 200,000 kilowatt unit was immediately expanded to 300,000 kilowatts.

The position of Director of the Baotou Municipal Administration for Industry and Commerce was vacant. As a line management unit, the Autonomous Region Administration for Industry and Commerce sent an official to Baotou to serve as the “top leader.” However, with just a few words from Xing Yun, he was sent back home. Several months later, a local official from Baotou assumed the position.

When Xing Yun was transferred from Ordos to become the Party Secretary of Baotou, many people followed him to Baotou, including not only serving officials but also private entrepreneurs, such as Dong Jierong, Chairman of Tai Bao Investment Co., Ltd. in Ordos, known in the business world as “Dong Er”. Over the years, several government infrastructure projects in Baotou, including the Baotou Airport Expressway and the Baotou-Guyang Expressway, all fell into the hands of “Dong Er”.

These words circulating in the community, difficult to discern for outsiders and eagerly discussed by locals, reflect the impression that the Baotou people have of Xing Yun: he exhaustively strategized for development and “made significant contributions” to today’s Baotou. He is authoritative, where his word was law, and during his tenure as the “top leader”, the Mayor of Baotou had virtually no presence. Especially, personnel arrangements were strictly under his control.

This is Xing Yun, like the two sides of a coin.

Now at the age of 67, Xing Yun had long served as the top leader of Yikezhao League (now known as Ordos, referred to as Yi League below) and Baotou, two of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region’s top three economically powerful regions. He also held control over the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of the Autonomous Region for more than five years. After retiring from his positions as Deputy Director and Deputy Secretary of the Party Group of the Standing Committee of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region People’s Congress for over two years, on 25 October 2018, the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission announced that Xing Yun was suspected of serious violations of discipline and law, and he was undergoing disciplinary review and investigation by the Central Commission for National Discipline Inspection and Supervisory Commission.

Now at the age of 67, Xing Yun had long served as the top leader of Yikezhao League (now known as Ordos, referred to as Yi League below) and Baotou, two of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region’s top three economically powerful regions. He also held control over the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of the Autonomous Region for more than five years.

On 15 August 2019, the bribery case of Xing Yun was heard in the Intermediate People’s Court of Dalian City, Liaoning Province. The Dalian Municipal Procuratorate accused Xing Yun of, from 1996 to 2016, taking advantage of his positions as deputy secretary, secretary, and party committee secretary of Yikezhao League, deputy secretary of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Party Committee, party secretary of Baotou City, standing committee member of the Autonomous Region Party Committee, secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee, and deputy director of the Standing Committee of the Autonomous Region People’s Congress to provide assistance to relevant units and individuals in project contracting, job adjustments, and promotions. He, directly or through his close relatives, accepted gains totalling more than 449 million CNY illegally from others. This makes it the highest amount of bribery charges against a senior official at or above the vice-ministerial level since 1949.

On 15 August 2019, the bribery case of Xing Yun was tried in the Intermediate People’s Court of Dalian City, Liaoning Province.

Since starting work in September 1968, Xing Yun’s career path has never left Inner Mongolia. Public records show that during his 11 years as a Standing Committee Member of the Inner Mongolia Party Committee, he served under two party secretaries and three autonomous region chairmen. Among the senior officials of the Inner Mongolia Party Committee, those who have interacted with Xing Yun and been investigated to be removed from office, include Han Zhiran, Mo Jiancheng, Pan Yiyang, and Wang Suyi. Among them, Han Zhiran, who was placed on two years of party probation for serious violations of discipline in 2015, served as Deputy Party Secretary and Mayor of Baotou City from 2001 to 2003, working alongside Xing Yun, who was then the Party Secretary of Baotou. Mo Jiancheng, who succeeded Xing Yun as the Party Secretary of Baotou, served for nearly four years. Although Mo Jiancheng’s career later progressed steadily, with transfers to Jiangxi and the Ministry of Finance, eventually becoming the head of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection’s discipline inspection team stationed at the Ministry of Finance, he was investigated in August 2017. According to the information released by the indictment, Mo Jiancheng’s alleged criminal activities spanned from 2000 to 2017, covering his tenure as Party Secretary of Baotou.

Of particular note, both before and after Xing Yun’s downfall, a group of officials who held important positions in the political and legal systems of Baotou, Hohhot, Ordos, and Inner Mongolia were investigated. They include three deputy directors of the Autonomous Region Public Security Department, three secretaries and deputy secretaries of the Baotou Municipal Party Committee’s Political and Legal Affairs Committee, five directors of the Baotou Municipal Public Security Bureau, and two former deputy mayors of Hohhot who also served as directors of the municipal public security bureau. Additionally, several businessmen were also subjected to investigation.

Xing Yun’s two sides

Baotou is a transliteration of the Mongolian word “Bakhtu” meaning “place of deer”. This key city in the northern part is located in the midlands of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It borders Mongolia to the north, the Yellow River to the south, and connects to the Tumochuan Plain and the Hetao Plain to the east and west respectively. During the Warring States period, King Wu Ling of Zhao established Jiuyuan County here. In the Qin Dynasty, it was known as Jiuyuan Commandery, which was later renamed Wuyuan Commandery during the Western Han Dynasty. It has historically been a crucial hub connecting the nomadic culture of the northern grasslands with the agricultural culture of the central plains.

Today, Baotou administers Kundulun District, Qingshan District, Donghe District, Jiuyuan District, Shiguai District, Guyang County, Tumed Right Banner, and Darhan Muminggan Joint Banner–as well as the Bayan Obo Mining District and Baotou Rare Earth High-tech Industrial Development Zone. The renowned Baotou Iron and Steel Group is located here, and it is also rich in rare earth resources, earning it the titles of “the Steel City of Grasslands” and “City of Rare Earths”.

The population of Baotou is twice that of Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia, and its economic development surpasses that of other regions. In recent years, with the rise of the resource base in Ordos, Baotou, once the dominant force, has become the third-largest force. Looking at the map, Hohhot, Baotou, and Ordos form an isosceles right triangle, constituting the most vibrant economic hub in Inner Mongolia, known as the Hohhot-Baotou-Ordos urban agglomeration.

The population of Baotou is twice that of Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia, and its economic development surpasses that of other regions. Its GDP ranked first in the autonomous region for many years, only being overtaken by Hohhot and Ordos in recent years.

This land, full of treasures, was also the stage of Xing Yun’s life. Born and raised here, he encountered opportune times to showcase his talents, rising to power and prominence–only to fall from grace.

In March 1952, Xing Yun was born in Tumed Banner, Inner Mongolia. Tumed Banner lies between Hohhot and Baotou. In the 1960s, it was split into Left and Right Banners, with the Left Banner belonging to Hohhot and the Right Banner to Baotou. In September 1968, at the age of 16, Xing Yun became a teacher at Beibuzi School in Right Tumed Banner. In 1973, the only college entrance examination during the Cultural Revolution was held, Xing Yun was admitted to the Department of Chemistry at Inner Mongolia Institute of Technology (now Inner Mongolia University of Technology). In December 1976, after graduating, Xing Yun was assigned to the Propaganda Department of the Right Tumed Banner Committee, thus embarking on his career. Two years later, he was transferred to work in Baotou City’s agricultural and commercial sectors, serving successively as secretary of the party committee of the Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Commercial Joint Company and director of the Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Commercial Management Office.

In September 1987, Xing Yun was appointed as a Standing Committee Member and Deputy District Director of Shiguai District, Baotou City. From then on, Xing Yun’s career progressed smoothly, with promotions almost every two to three years. In October 1993, he was appointed as the Deputy League Governor of Yi League, then in January 1995, he became the League Governor. In October 1996, he was promoted to the Secretary of the League Committee.

After serving as the “top leader” in Ordos for nearly seven years, Xing Yun entered the core circle of power in the autonomous region at the end of 2001. He was elected as a Standing Committee Member of the Autonomous Region Party Committee and transferred to the position of Party Secretary of Baotou City at the age of 49. After one term, Xing Yun was re-elected as a Standing Committee Member of the Autonomous Region Party Committee and became the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee, holding this position until 2012 when he stepped back from the frontline and was reassigned as the Deputy Director and Deputy Secretary of the Party Group of the Standing Committee of the Autonomous Region People’s Congress. His influence gradually faded from the political scene in Inner Mongolia.

From 1995 to 2012, whether in Ordos or leading the steel city of Baotou, or overseeing the public security and judicial system of the autonomous region, Xing Yun reached the peak of power within these 17 years. However, he also gradually fell into the abyss. In these three pivotal positions, whether in urban development or the political and economic ecosystem, Xing Yun left a deep imprint and a profound impact that is still felt today.

Xing Yun had a sturdy physique and a typical “leader look.” Not all assessments of Xing Yun among the locals in Baotou are negative. Several Baotou civil servants and private enterprise bosses told Caixin journalists that Xing Yun had strong work abilities, was decisive in his actions, and had outstanding political achievements. “Xing Yun is someone who wants to do things and can get things done. After he took office, Baotou’s investment promotion efforts were very successful, and enterprise restructuring was also very successful. Baotou’s economic development was rapid, and civil servants’ salaries were generally raised. People generally remember his good deeds,” said one individual.

Interviewees also pointed out that during Xing Yun’s tenure, he introduced a large-scale rare earth aluminium industry enterprise, which brought good profits, solved employment issues, and increased tax revenue. However, it also led to serious pollution. A senior executive at Baotou Television Station said they had received many complaints from nearby villages about severe pollution during that time. Many villagers were contracting cancer more frequently, but the television programmes were afraid to speak out due to the government’s power.

On the other hand, Xing Yun was strong-willed and liked to monopolise power. “Whether in Baotou or previously in Ordos, when he was mayor, the Party Secretary had no presence; when he was Party Secretary, the mayor had no presence,” said a retired official from Inner Mongolia. Xing Yun served in Ordos and Baotou for many years, gradually rising through the ranks and promoting many people. “When he was in Ordos, many people who didn’t meet organisational procedures and shouldn’t have been promoted were promoted one by one. When he was transferred to Baotou, he hastily promoted a large number of cadres. He worked in Baotou for 20 years, with many old comrades deeply rooted. When he became Secretary of the Autonomous Region Political and Legal Affairs Committee, he had complete control over organisation and personnel matters.”

Xing Yun, who held immense power, left many people with the impression of loyalty and sentimentality. “What Xiao He does can either make or break him,” as the saying goes. When he fell from grace, it was like toppling a row of dominoes. Many businessmen who had close ties with him and old comrades he had promoted collapsed together like a falling curtain. This ushered in an unprecedented storm on the Inner Mongolian grasslands.

Xing Yun’s downfall was not sudden. Rumours about his investigation had long been circulating. Like the story of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”, after a while, no one took it seriously. Criticisms of Xing Yun mainly focused on two aspects: the first is about personnel appointment. The second is that during his tenure as Party Secretary of Yi League, the head of Shiguai District in Baotou City, and the Governor and Secretary of the League Committee of Yi League, he vigorously promoted the reform of state-owned enterprises and coal mines. There were suspicions of him engaging in corrupt practices, such as price manipulation, and many workers who were laid off did not receive proper resettlement.

On 25 October 2018, the central inspection team on the crackdown campaign of gang crimes left Inner Mongolia. That evening, the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission announced that Xing Yun was under investigation. After six months, on 29 April 2019, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection released the investigation conclusion on Xing Yun: he had lost his ideals and beliefs, degenerated politically, long abused his power for personal gain in promotions, job transfers, and other aspects, illegally accepting huge bribes, hastily promoting and adjusting cadres, improperly interfering with judicial activities, seriously undermining the party’s personnel selection system and the political ecology of the regions he worked in. He was also found to be greedy, accepting huge bribes, colluding with private entrepreneurs, and shamelessly engaging in corrupt practices involving power and money, as well as indulging in a decadent and corrupt lifestyle, involving transactions of power and money for sexual favours.

Clearly, the focus of the investigation conclusion by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection also emphasises these issues: abusing official positions to seek benefits for others in promotions, job transfers, and other aspects; illegally accepting huge bribes; colluding with private entrepreneurs, abusing power and influence to seek benefits for them; and shamelessly engaging in corrupt practices involving power and money.

According to the indictment by the Dalian Intermediate People’s Court on 15 August Xing Yun’s alleged corruption began during his tenure as the Yi League Governor in 1996 and continued until he stepped down as the Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Autonomous Region People’s Congress in 2016. His massive bribery amount of 449 million CNY mainly came from these areas: engineering contracts, promotions, and job transfers.

Chasing from Ordos to Baotou: The “Billionaire Dong Er”

Driving more than 100 kilometres south from Baotou leads to an emerging city of heavy industries known as the “City of Palaces” in Mongolian: Ordos. It ranked 55th among China’s top 100 GDP cities in the first half of 2019, topping the list in Inner Mongolia.

Just over 20 years ago, this area harboured one-sixth of the nation’s coal reserves and one-third of its proven natural gas reserves and was a region inhabited by ethnic minorities. The area is known as the Yikezhao League. In October 1993, Xing Yun was transferred from the District Head of Shiguai District in Baotou city to become the Deputy Governor of the Yikezhao League. Since January 1995, he has served as the Governor and Secretary of the League Committee. In September 2001 when Yi League was changed to Ordos city, Xing Yun was the first Party Secretary of Ordos City.

During Xing Yun’s tenure, the Yi League and Ordos experienced rapid development. According to a record on Wikipedia, economic expansion in Ordos began in 1994, with GDP growing at an average annual rate of 20% during the “Ninth Five-Year” Plan period (1996-2000), maintaining the highest growth rate in Inner Mongolia for seven consecutive years, and tripling its economic output within nine years. By 2004, Ordos led the nation in per capita fixed asset investment, per capita GDP growth, cashmere production, and coal output. This forms the “Ordos Phenomenon” with its remarkable development speed and efficiency.

Many people in Ordos believe that Xing Yun’s greatest achievement in the city was the bold reform of state-owned enterprises, which involved introducing private capital, reforming them into joint-stock companies, or outright selling them to private enterprises. The private economy in Ordos thus fuelled the rapid growth.

For example, well-known companies such as the Ordos Group and Inner Mongolia Yitai Group Ltd. were transformed from state-owned enterprises to private companies during Xing Yun’s tenure. However, in the process of privatising state-owned enterprises, as the local leader, Xing Yun held significant power and resources. Private entrepreneurs who sought to benefit from this wave of development flocked to him. Xing Yun gradually established relationships with private entrepreneurs as strangers to acquaintances and ultimately to partners, leading to the abuse of authority for rent-seeking and the transfer of benefits.

Dong Jierong, the chairman of Taibao Investment Co., Ltd. (referred to as Taibao Company in the following) in Ordos, is one such example. In his 50s, Dong Jierong, also known as Dong Er, hails from Dalate Banner in Ordos. There is little recorded history of his rise to prominence. Local media reports describe how, since the 1990s, Dong Jierong has been helping to build roads, dig wells, and financially support children’s education in his hometown, donating to village schools and impoverished households.

In Ordos, few people know the name Dong Jierong, but “Dong Er” and his Taibao Company are widely renowned. Established in March 2004, Taibao Company primarily engages in road bridge and infrastructure construction. Its parent company, Ordos Ronglian Road and Bridge Engineering Co., Ltd. (later renamed Inner Mongolia Ronglian Road and Bridge Engineering Co., Ltd.), was Dong Jierong’s earliest enterprise. Founded in March 1999 with a registered capital of 710 million CNY, business records show that Dong Jierong contributed 480 million CNY, holding a 67.61% stake, while Zhang Chengwen contributed 224 million CNY, holding a 31.55% stake. Dong Jierong has also ventured into real estate investment, mineral development, the new energy sector, and owns two small loan companies in Ordos and Hohhot.

According to the introduction documents of Taibao Company, it has invested over 10 billion CNY in total and has undertaken the construction and operation of five highways in Ordos and Inner Mongolia using the BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) model. These highways include the G18 Rongwu Expressway section from Dafanpu to Dongsheng (within the territory of Ordos), the S31 Expressway section from Chenghao to Dafanpu (within the territory of Ordos), the national highway 109 section from Dafanpu to Dongsheng (within the territory of Ordos), the secondary highway from Haogebu to Tuoketuo  (within the territory of Ordos), and the secondary highway from Baotou to Guyang, totalling 390 kilometres in length with 18 toll stations. Currently, Taibao Company is the leader in BOT investment in highway construction in Ordos and even Inner Mongolia.

In September 2001, Xing Yun left Ordos and returned to Baotou to serve as the Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee. Dong Jierong, who had a close relationship with Xing Yun, had arrived in Baotou two months earlier and registered a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ronglian Road and Bridge Engineering Co., Ltd.: Baotou Huanghe Road and Bridge Engineering Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Huanghe Road and Bridge) in the High-tech Development Zone. Soon after, Huanghe Road and Bridge undertook a large number of infrastructure projects. According to someone close to Dong Jierong, the “Baotou to Guyang Secondary Road” and the Baotou Airport Expressway were “built by Dong Er.”

Although the Caixin reporter was unable to find public bidding information online regarding the Baotou Airport Expressway project, this claim was hinted at in an article titled “Eagle Soars High – A True Account of Rolling Development in the Inner Mongolia Market by China Railway 17th Bureau Group Corporation’s Fourth Company” published in the July 2003 issue of “Construction” magazine. The article stated that in October 2002, China Railway 17th Bureau Group Corporation’s Fourth Company (hereinafter referred to as CRCC Fourth Company) won the bid for the first contract section of the Baotou to Guyang Secondary Road renovation project with an investment of 12.98 million CNY. In July 2003, the project owner “awarded five mid-bridge projects along the Baotou Airport Road with an investment of 20 million CNY in the form of negotiated bidding.”

Many local sources in Inner Mongolia claim that shortly after Xing Yun was investigated, Dong Jierong disappeared. They believed that he had been assisted in the investigation.

This was not the first time Dong Jierong had lost his freedom. According to a post on the WeChat public account “Tongliao Prosecution” on 21 May 2016, the Kailu County Procuratorate in Tongliao City initiated an investigation into the suspicion of bribery by Taibao Company and its chairman Dong Jierong. The investigation revealed that in order to thank Yuan Zhigang, the former director of the Ordos Transportation Bureau and deputy inspector of the Autonomous Region Transportation Department, for his assistance in coordinating land acquisition and demolition and approval procedures for the Rongwu Expressway project, Dong Jierong gave Yuan Zhigang 200,000 CNY during the Spring Festival of 2009. In 2010 and 2011, Dong Jierong gave Yuan Zhigang a total of 550,000 CNY in three instalments, which constituted the crime of bribery.

In August 2016, the Xing’an League Intermediate Court convicted Yuan Zhigang of bribery and having a huge amount of property from unknown sources, sentencing him to 14 years in prison. The verdict revealed that between 2004 and 2014, Dong Jierong gave Yuan Zhigang a total of 870,000 CNY on various occasions–including when his son went abroad and got married, and during his holidays–in order to obtain Yuan Zhigang’s assistance in highway projects.

Outside of Ordos and Baotou, Dong Jierong seems relatively unknown, but in fact, his name emerged over a decade ago. In January 2007, the investigative report “hose Lu Neng” which caused a sensation revealed the insider story of the covert privatisation of the energy giant Shandong Luneng Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Luneng Group), which had total assets of 73.805 billion CNY at the time. Two private enterprises, Beijing Guoyuan United Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Guoyuan United) and Shouda Energy Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Shouda Energy), jointly invested 3.276 billion CNY to acquire 91.61% of Luneng Group’s shares. At that time, financial journalists searched through business registration information but struggled to uncover the true nature of Guoyuan United.

Under public pressure, companies under Luneng Group, including Luneng Taishan (000720.SZ), Guangyu Development (000537.SZ), and Jinma Group (000602.SZ, already delisted), had to publicly announce that the actual controlling shareholder Luneng Group had completed a change in equity ownership in May 2006. The China Hydropower Workers’ Shandong Electric Power Committee transferred its 31.52% stake in Luneng Group to Shouda Energy, and 46 shareholders such as Shandong Luneng Property Management Company transferred their 60.09% stake in Luneng Group to Guoyuan United. In June, the two new shareholder companies further injected 3.7 billion CNY into Luneng Group, making Guoyuan United the absolute controlling shareholder.

According to the complex shareholding diagram in the announcement, Guoyuan United controlled Luneng Group with a 57.29% stake, and Beijing Rongda Juheng Investment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Rongda Juheng), through New Era Trust, held 95% of Guoyuan United’s equity. Zhao Xingyin, Baotou Huanghe Road and Bridge Engineering Co., Ltd., Deng Hong, and Du Wei respectively held 52%, 30%, 10%, and 8% of the shares of Rongda Juheng. Zhao Xingyin thus indirectly held 28.30% of the shares of Luneng Group, becoming the actual controller of Luneng Group and three listed companies.

The announcement did not mention Zhao Xingyin, but it was later discovered that he was the general manager of Huanghe Road and Bridge, and Dong Jierong was the legal representative of Huanghe Road and Bridge. According to the above equity structure, Huanghe Road and Bridge itself, as the second-largest shareholder of Rongda Juheng, also indirectly held 16.33% of the shares of Luneng Group. Dong Jierong, as the actual controller of Huanghe Road and Bridge, also indirectly held 11.04% of the shares of Luneng Group.

However, according to the Caixin reporter’s on-site investigation in 2014, Zhao Xingyin, born in 1955, is neither a major investor in Beijing nor the general manager of the  Road and Bridge company in Baotou. Instead, he is an English teacher at Liulin Village Elementary School in Bianyuan Town, Feicheng County, Tai’an City, Shandong Province. This teacher in a rural place, who temporarily lived in a poorly equipped school apartment with his wife whose health was poor until retirement, was involved in the sensational “snake swallowing an elephant” business scandal simply because his sister-in-law’s little brother, Xiao Jianhua, a prominent figure of the “Mingtian gang” in the capital market after graduating from Peking University, attempted to use Zhao Xingyin’s identity. On 4 February 2008, three companies in the “Luneng Group” collectively suspended trading. According to a response from relevant national authorities, Shandong Electric Power Group, the Shandong Electric Power Committee of the China Hydropower Association, and Shandong Luneng Property Company repurchased the shares of Luneng Group originally bought by Guoyuan United and Shouda Energy.

Although an investigative report hindered the “snake swallowing an elephant” story, the relationship between the snake and the elephant remains unclear. On the eve of the 2017 Spring Festival, Xiao Jianhua, who once wielded significant influence in China’s financial industry, was reported to have been under investigation. Nearly three years later, there has been no news of a trial. It remains unknown what role Dong Jierong played in this affair and whether there are more hidden connections between him and Xiao Jianhua.

In August 2019, after being missing for nearly a year, Dong Jierong’s companies underwent intensive business changes. He transferred all the shares of companies such as Taibao Company and Ronglian Road and Bridge, and he resigned from his positions. He was replaced by Dong Jinshuan, a registered second-level construction engineer at Ronglian Road and Bridge. Informants claim that the two are relatives.

In October 2019, Xing Yun, who had not been seen for a long time, appeared with white hair at the trial. There is still no public information about Dong Jierong, who disappeared along with him. It remains to be seen whether he will be as fortunate as in the case of Yuan Zhigang last time.

The trouble originating from the Baogang cases

The Caixin reporter has learned that Xing Yun has intricate connections with the “Baogang Cases” and the case of Ma Yongmao, chairman of Baotou Huamei Rare Earth. Some people suggest that Xing Yun may have been implicated due to the downfall of two successive chairmen of Baogang.

Baotou Iron and Steel Group Co., Ltd. (referred to as Baogang) was established in 1954 and is a key project during China’s “First Five-Year Plan.” It controls 1.14 billion tons of iron ore resources, 1.11 million tons of non-ferrous metal reserves, and 1.929 billion tons of coal resources. It owns two listed companies, Baogang Shares (600010.SH) and Northern Rare Earth (600111.SH), with total assets exceeding 180 billion CNY. With a workforce of 48,000 employees, it is not only a crucial steel production base in China but also the world’s largest rare earth industrial base.

Multiple sources have indicated that during Xing Yun’s tenure in Baotou, he often intervened in personnel changes within the leadership of Baogang, which had direct implications for some issues related to the Baogang case series.

Multiple sources have indicated that during Xing Yun’s tenure in Baotou, he often intervened in personnel changes within the leadership of Baogang, which had direct implications for some issues related to the Baogang case series.

Xing Yun has deep connections with Baogang. In the 1980s, when Xing Yun served as the director of the Agricultural, Animal Husbandry, and Industrial and Commercial Management Office of Baotou City and later as the deputy district head of Shiguai District, he studied in the correspondence class of the metallurgy department at Baotou Iron and Steel Institute (now Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology). After graduating in three years, he was promoted to the position of district head of Shiguai District. This study experience, during the 1980s when education was paid much attention, greatly boosted Xing Yun’s career and forged a long and close relationship between him and Baogang. The predecessor of Baotou Iron and Steel Institute was the Baotou Iron and Steel Industrial School, established in February 1956. Baogang was directly involved in the establishment and subsequent development of the school, and Baotou Iron and Steel Institute served as the cradle and base for talents of Baogang. Many graduates of the institute became the backbone of Baogang, and some even rose to leadership positions.

People familiar with Xing Yun describe him as nostalgic and loyal, “trying his best to meet” the requests of old friends and acquaintances. Like the vast majority of Chinese universities, successful alumni such as Xing Yun was considered as pride for his home university. He occasionally participated in school activities and extended support to fellow alumni. The relationship between Xing Yun and the two successive chairmen of Baogang, Cui Chen and Zhou Bingli, who were also outstanding alumni of the institute, was particularly significant.

Three months before Xing Yun was investigated, on 17 July 2018, Cui Chen, who is the same age as him, was suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and was investigated by the Autonomous Region Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision. Cui Chen graduated from the rolling speciality of Baotou Iron and Steel Institute in 1975 and served as the assistant general manager of Baogang, the general manager of Baogang Rare Earth Company, and the deputy general manager of Baogang. In May 2007, he was promoted to chairman and party secretary of Baogang. In 2010, Cui Chen went to Hohhot to serve as the deputy director of the Autonomous Region Economic and Information Committee (department level) and retired two years later.

Three months after Cui Chen was investigated, in October 2018, the Autonomous Region Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision announced: Cui Chen’s concept of power had become distorted. He treated the operational activities of state-owned enterprises as a tool for personal gain, engaged in “option corruption” by granting favours while in office and seeking rewards after retirement, and solicited and accepted bribes after retirement. On 16 September 2019, the Hohhot Intermediate People’s Court ruled in the first instance that Cui Chen was guilty of bribery and had a huge amount of unexplained property. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison and a fine of 2 million CNY.

The court trial found that during Cui Chen’s tenure as deputy chairman and chairman of Baogang and deputy director of the Autonomous Region Economic and Information Committee, he used his position to seek benefits for others, illegally accepting or demanding money and property totalling over 23.22 million CNY and 10,000 USD. As a state employee, Cui Chen’s family assets and expenditures significantly exceeded his legal income, with over 57.27 million CNY of property unaccounted for, resulting in an exceptionally large discrepancy, constituting bribery and having a huge amount of unexplained property.

The downfall of senior executives at Baogang is not an isolated case. It is widely recognized within Baogang that Cui Chen’s downfall was related to his former subordinate and successor, Zhou Bingli. More than a year before Cui Chen was investigated, on 17 March 2017, the Inner Mongolia Daily reported that the 31st meeting of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth People’s Congress of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region decided to allow the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Procuratorate to take compulsory measures against Zhou Bingli, a deputy of the Autonomous Region People’s Congress, based on the “Report on the Application for Permission to Take Compulsory Measures submitted by the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Procuratorate”, in accordance with relevant provisions of the “Representative Law”.

Zhou Bingli, aged 56, graduated from the Metallurgical Machinery Department of Baotou Iron and Steel Institute in August 1984. He rose through the ranks at Baogang, starting from a grassroots clerk, then becoming deputy director of a workshop, deputy director of the iron making plant, deputy director of the machinery department, director, and finally assistant to the general manager. In April 2010, he took over as chairman and party secretary of Baogang from Cui Chen. Six years later, he was transferred to the position of deputy director (department level) of the Autonomous Region Safety Production Supervision and Administration Bureau, but he was soon dismissed from his post in less than a year. According to a notice from the Inner Mongolia Discipline Inspection Commission and Supervision Commission in August 2019, Zhou Bingli abused his power, sought benefits for others, accepted bribes, and handled public affairs in violation of regulations–causing significant losses to state-owned enterprises. Zhou Bingli was found guilty of bribery and abuse of power by state-owned company and enterprise personnel. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison and fined 500,000 CNY.

From the prosecution to the first trial and verdict in the Zhou Bingli case, the authorities had not disclosed any information. It was until the “Two Sessions” of Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province in 2019 that Wang Jing, the president of the Intermediate People’s Court of Zhangjiakou revealed in the court’s work report that in 2018, the Zhangjiakou Intermediate People’s Court tried Zhou Bingli’s case of official misconduct, designated by the Supreme Court. As for the specific details of Zhou Bingli’s case–such as the bribery items, amounts of money, and the losses caused to Baogang–official statements remained vague.

According to the Caixin reporter, Xing Yun not only intervened in personnel arrangements at Baogang, but he also had a hand in Baogang’s acquisition affairs. During the tenure of Cui Chen and Zhou Bingli, the most famous acquisition was the “Baogang Acquisition of Huamei Rare Earth” case.

Baotou Huamei Rare Earth High-Tech Co., Ltd. (referred to as Huamei Rare Earth) was established in 1993 with a registered capital of over 130 million CNY. Ma Yongmao served as its legal representative, and he was once a prominent figure in the business community in Baotou and even Inner Mongolia.

Ma Yongmao was born in 1967. He is described by those who have dealt with him as of medium height, wearing glasses, and having a polite demeanour. Ma Yongmao was also a poor child when he was young and attended Guyang County No. 1 Middle School for junior high. “He dropped out of school in the second year of junior high school and started to venture into the world. At first, he engaged in small-scale activities, but he made his fortune entirely by selling rare earths.”

In the early years, rare earths were not classified as important strategic materials, and at that time “rare earths were as cheap as cabbage,” but it was very difficult to obtain mining rights. Ma Yongmao obtained mining rights very early on. Later, as the price of rare earths rose, he seized the opportunity and made a fortune. A childhood friend of Ma Yongmao recalled that in 2005, when the stock market was booming, acquaintances sought advice from Ma Yongmao on what stocks to invest in, and he replied, “Invest in rare earths, buy Baogang.”

At that time in Baotou, apart from Baogang, Huamei Company was the largest rare earth enterprise. As a successful entrepreneur, Ma Yongmao paid great attention to enhancing his own image. According to the aforementioned source, after 2000, Ma Yongmao began living in Beijing, where his children also attended school. And he hired professional managers from Beijing. Ma Yongmao himself attended various CEO training programs to improve himself, expand his social circle, and even obtained an EMBA from Tsinghua University. Every time Guyang No. 1 Middle School held its anniversary, Ma Yongmao would generously donate money.

Despite China having the largest rare earth reserves in the world, after more than 30 years of inefficient and excessive mining, the reserves had rapidly declined from 71.1% of the world’s total reserves to 23%. In 2006, China began implementing total control management over rare earth mining and introduced access policies for the industry, squeezing out small and medium-sized private enterprises. In 2007, Huamei Rare Earth was sold to Baogang for 1.3 billion CNY.

Huamei Rare Earth had previously claimed to have total assets of 240 million CNY, covering an area of 211,000 square metres, with over 700 employees. It had an annual production capacity of 80,000 tons of rare earth carbonate, 7,500 tons of various rare earth oxides and compounds, 300 tons of single rare earth metals mainly composed of neodymium, and 100 tons of nano-crystalline rare earth alloy magnetic powder. However, a person who had worked in Ma Yongmao’s company stated, “In fact, it was a company with only a few dozen employees engaged in rough processing of rare earths. Selling at such a high price, everyone felt that he was providing benefits to the leaders of Baogang.”

According to information sources in Inner Mongolia’s political and legal circles who spoke to the Caixin reporter, Ma Yongmao was investigated in 2016 and has since been legally sanctioned for bribery, including bribing leaders of the Baogang Group during the sale of Huamei Rare Earth.

The first wave of anti-corruption crackdowns

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Supervisory Commission reported that Xing Yun had long used his position to seek benefits for others in terms of promotion, job transfers, and more, illegally accepting huge amounts of property from others. He hastily promoted and adjusted cadres, improperly intervened in judicial activities, seriously undermining the party’s personnel selection system and the political ecology of the regions where he served. In 2019, the Caixin reporter visited Inner Mongolia three times, and many interviewees in Ordos, Baotou, and Hohhot mentioned this issue. It has been over a year since Xing Yun was investigated, and more than a dozen senior officials in Baotou and Hohhot have been investigated, surrendered, or committed suicide. Especially in the public security and judicial system, there is an atmosphere of tension and fear.

Informed sources in the local political and legal circles stated that Xing Yun was daring and had political achievements. He promoted many cadres, especially during his tenure as Secretary of the Autonomous Region’s Political and Legal Affairs Commission. Many cadres in the public security and judicial system sought his help for promotion. “In recent years, his subordinates and relationships have been intertwined,” sighed a retired leader to the Caixin reporter. Xing Yun’s bold promotion of cadres surprised those who had long been in the political arena. “Some very ordinary people who were never expected to be promoted were promoted, and some who should have been promoted step by step were directly promoted,” one said.

Another interviewee from Baotou said that just before Xing Yun left Ordos, he helped more than 160 cadres at once. Xing Yun even brought cadres with whom he had close relationships to Baotou. Zhang Mang, the former director of the Baotou Municipal State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, who was investigated after Zhou Bingli and Cui Chen and before Xing Yun, was one of them.

At the age of 55, Zhang Mang graduated from Inner Mongolia Institute of Technology in the 1980s. In February 1997, Zhang Mang was transferred from Ulanqab League to the Traffic Bureau of Yi League, where the party secretary was his schoolmate and senior fellow Xing Yun. In December 2001, Xing Yun returned to Baotou as a member of the Autonomous Region Party Committee and Secretary of the Baotou Municipal Party Committee. Two months later, Zhang Mang followed him, serving as the deputy minister of the Organization Department of the Baotou Municipal Committee and director of the Talent Office, director of the Baotou Municipal Traffic Bureau, deputy secretary of the Baotou Municipal Committee, and director of the General Office. In April 2015, he became the deputy secretary of the Party Committee and director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Baotou.

On 28 July 2018, Zhang Mang was detained by the supervisory commission of Wuhai City, Inner Mongolia, on suspicion of serious violations of laws and duties. On the same day that Xing Yun was announced to have fallen from power, Zhang Mang was arrested on charges of bribery and corruption. In July 2019, the Hainan District Court in Wuhai City sentenced Zhang Mang to four and a half years in prison for bribery and corruption.

Zhang Mang’s downfall began in Baotou. According to the verdict, from 2006 to 2012, while serving as the Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Baotou Municipal Transportation Bureau, Zhang Mang abused his power to seek benefits for others, illegally accepting property totalling over 2.57 million CNY.

At the same time, Zhang Mang was also involved as a briber of Mo Jiancheng, former head of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection’s supervisory team at the Ministry of Finance, and member of the Ministry of Finance’s party group, who was investigated in August 2017. Mo Jiancheng took over Xing Yun’s position as a member of the Autonomous Region Party Committee and Secretary of the Baotou Municipal Committee in November 2006. According to the verdict, Zhang Mang gave Mo Jiancheng cash twice, totalling 800,000 CNY. In January 2019, Mo Jiancheng was sentenced to 14 years in prison for accepting bribes totalling over 42.59 million CNY.

After the downfall of Zhou Bingli, Cui Chen, and Zhang Mang, many in Inner Mongolia believed it was a small earthquake in the field of state-owned assets in Baotou. On 29 September 2018, Du Baojun, former Deputy Director of the Baotou Public Security Bureau, was investigated, and this was initially seen as an isolated incident at that time.

Du Baojun, 56, had served in the Inner Mongolia Border Defence Corps and the Armed Police before joining the Inner Mongolia Public Security Department in 1990, where he had been working ever since. In October 2007, Du Baojun was appointed assistant to the director of the Baotou Public Security Bureau while serving as the deputy head of the Anti-Cult Crime Investigation Brigade of the Autonomous Region Public Security Department. In January 2009, he became deputy director of the Baotou Public Security Bureau. In December 2011, Du Baojun was transferred to deputy director of the Hohhot Public Security Bureau.

However, less than a month after Du Baojun’s downfall, the situation changed dramatically: On 25 October 2018, Xing Yun’s case broke out. The next day, Baotou’s Deputy Mayor Lu Zhi was taken down. On 31 October, Meng Jianwei, former deputy head of the Autonomous Region Public Security Department at the department level, was suspected of serious violations of discipline and law, and he was subjected to disciplinary review and supervision investigation. People finally realised that a powerful storm was brewing.

Lu Zhi is ten years younger than Xing Yun. In July 1986, at the age of 24, Lu Zhi graduated from the Department of Aerial Surveying and Remote Sensing at Wuhan University of Geomatics and Technology and was assigned to the Aerial Survey Team of the Inner Mongolia Surveying Bureau. Three years later, Lu Zhi was transferred to the Planning and Land Administration Bureau of Baotou City, where he served as deputy director, director, deputy head, and head. At the end of 2007, Lu Zhi left the Planning and Land Bureau, where he had worked for eight years, and he was appointed as the district head of Jiuyuan District. A year later, he became the secretary of the district committee. In 2014, Lu Zhi was promoted to deputy mayor of Baotou.

More than four months after Lu Zhi was investigated, in March 2019, the Discipline Inspection Commission and Supervisory Commission of the Autonomous Region announced that Lu Zhi had acted as a “protective umbrella” for members of criminal gangs, intervened in market economic activities, used his authority or position to seek benefits for others, and was suspected of bribery crimes. His family’s assets and expenditures significantly exceeded his legal income, with a huge difference, and the source of a large amount of property could not be explained, suspected of crimes of unclear origins of huge assets.

Meng Jianwei is a prominent figure in the public security system of the Autonomous Region, having been awarded first-class merit three times and second-class merit multiple times. At the age of 64, Meng Jianwei joined the public security system in July 1977. He has served as the director of the Wuhai Public Security Bureau, the Ulanqab Public Security Bureau, and in June 2003, he was transferred to the director of the Baotou Public Security Bureau.

He quickly became a key figure under Xing Yun and became the head of the Political and Legal Committee of the Baotou Municipal Party Committee in December 2007, and he continued to serve as the head of the Public Security Bureau until September 2010, leading the public security work in Baotou for more than seven years. In September 2010, before Xing Yun stepped down from the position of secretary of the Political and Legal Committee of the Autonomous Region, Meng Jianwei was promoted to the position of deputy director of the Party Committee of the Autonomous Region Public Security Department at the department level. In January 2015, at the age of 60, Meng Jianwei retired to the second line, serving only as a member of the Autonomous Region Political Consultative Conference. He retired in December 2017.

Just one day after Meng Jianwei fell from power, even more shocking news emerged: on the night of 1 November 2018, Li Zhibin, one of his former subordinates in the Baotou public security system who had been promoted to deputy director of the Public Security Department of the Autonomous Region, Deputy Mayor of Hohhot, and director of the Hohhot Public Security Bureau, hanged himself. The next day, Inner Mongolia News Network reported that after investigation and examination by the public security organs, preliminary evidence ruled out the possibility of homicide. The suicide note found at the scene indicated that he had been suffering from depression and had been relying on highly effective sleeping pills to fall asleep every day.

In fact, shortly after Xing Yun was investigated, Li Zhibin’s involvement was quickly revealed. The Discipline Inspection Commission had three conversations with Li Zhibin, and the day after the third conversation, Li Zhibin hanged himself in the break room of the public security bureau.

Born in 1967, Li Zhibin was more junior than Meng Jianwei in the police force, but he had a closer relationship with Xing Yun. From September 1987 to October 1993, Xing Yun served as the deputy district head and district head of Shiguai District in Baotou City. At that time, Li Zhibin had just started working as a young police officer in the Shiguai District Police Station and a technician in the Criminal Police Team. According to multiple sources, Li Zhibin’s sister was a teacher at a primary school in Shiguai District, and she had a close relationship with Xing Yun. This relationship between Li Zhibin’s sister and Xing Yun continued for a long period thereafter.

Under Xing Yun’s patronage, Li Zhibin was promoted all the way through the ranks. He successively served as the director of the Shiguai Public Security Sub-Bureau and the political commissar of the Donghe Sub-Bureau. In January 2009, he was promoted alongside Du Baojun to become the deputy director of the Baotou Public Security Bureau, becoming Meng Jianwei’s deputy. In February 2011, he was promoted to the level of deputy director. Even after Xing Yun stepped down from the position of Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee of the Autonomous Region to become a member of the People’s Congress in 2012, Li Zhibin continued to be promoted.

In January 2015, after spending decades in Baotou, he was transferred to become the deputy mayor and director of the Public Security Bureau of Chifeng City. During this time, there was a serious case where Zhao Liping, the former deputy governor of the autonomous region and former director of the Public Security Department, publicly shot his mistress. Li Zhibin was credited for capturing Zhao Liping, and in December of that year, he was transferred to become the party secretary of the Hohhot Public Security Bureau. Two months later, he was appointed as the deputy director of the Autonomous Region Public Security Department, deputy mayor of Hohhot, party secretary, and director of the Hohhot Public Security Bureau, fully in charge of the police power in Hohhot. Du Baojun, who was promoted to the deputy director of the Baotou Public Security Bureau at the same time, was his deputy.

After Li Zhibin’s suicide, Huang Qiang, his deputy when he served as the director of the Baotou Public Security Bureau, and Xia Jingkui, the director of the Kundulun District Public Security Sub-Bureau, were subsequently arrested. In addition, officials such as Zhu Runsheng, the former deputy director of the Kundulun District Public Security Sub-Bureau; Zhai Xiaoyang, the former deputy district head and public security sub-bureau director of the Shi Guai District; Liu Haiqing, the former director of the Qingshan District Public Security Sub-Bureau; Hu Wei, the former director of the Jiuyuan District Public Security Sub-Bureau; Hao Zhengguang, the director of the Security Management Detachment of the Baotou Public Security Bureau; Mei Xuejun, the former deputy director of the Baotou Intermediate People’s Court; and Gao Xiangyun, the political commissar of the Guyang County Public Security Bureau, either underwent investigation or surrendered upon hearing the news.

The second wave of anti-corruption crackdowns

As the new spring brought fresh green to the vast grasslands, just when people thought the storm was subsiding, a new wave of crackdown came roaring in on a larger scale.

On 22 March 2019, the Inner Mongolia Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision announced that Dong Binghui, the president of the Intermediate People’s Court of Hohhot, was suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and was under disciplinary review and investigation.

Dong Binghui, aged 56, is from Tongliao, Inner Mongolia, and comes from a background in political and legal affairs in Baotou. In his early years, Dong Binghui worked at the Baotou Normal College. In 2000, he entered the political and legal system and served as the deputy secretary of the Baotou Municipal Party Committee’s Political and Legal Affairs Committee. He had working interactions with Xing Yun, Meng Jianwei, Li Zhibin, Du Baojun, and others. In particular, Meng Jianwei served as a member of the Standing Committee of the Baotou Municipal Party Committee, secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee, and director of the Public Security Bureau from December 2007 to September 2010, directly overseeing Dong Binghui.

In February 2012, Dong Binghui was transferred to the Intermediate People’s Court of Hulunbuir in the northeast. However, just over a year later, he returned to the Hohhot-Baotou-Erdos Triangle area and became the president of the Intermediate People’s Court of Hohhot. He worked in this position for six years. A political and legal figure in Inner Mongolia said, “Dong Binghui has a good reputation in the system. He provided housing for everyone and enriched the cultural life of the court. Feedback from various aspects was good. There were no rumours before. It’s a pity that he turned out to be corrupt.”

In early April 2019, during interviews in Inner Mongolia, local sources said that Dong Binghui had been still under investigation, and the Autonomous Region Supervision Commission had taken away all the account books of the Hohhot Intermediate People’s Court.

In September 2019, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision announced the results of the investigation into Dong Binghui: he accepted money and gifts from others during the process of cadre selection and appointment; received gifts and money that may have affected the impartial execution of official duties; engaged in profit-making activities in violation of regulations; illegally possessed public property; used judicial power for personal gain; traded judicial power for benefits; and accepted bribes. On 5 November, the Ordos Municipal Procuratorate announced that Dong Binghui was charged with bribery and corruption. The prosecution accused Dong Binghui of using his position as president of the Hohhot Intermediate People’s Court to seek benefits for others and illegally accept their money, with an especially large amount and using his position as president of the Hulunbuir Intermediate People’s Court to embezzle public property on a large scale. He should be held criminally responsible for bribery and corruption.

Following the suicide of the director of the public security bureau in the capital city and the downfall of the court president, on 1 August  2019, the 14th meeting of the 13th Standing Committee of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region People’s Congress approved the resignation of Baoyin Deli Ge’er from the position of procurator-general of the Hohhot Municipal People’s Procuratorate. Baoyin Deli Ge’er is also a cadre who grew up in Baotou and served in Donghe District and Damao Banner for many years. From September 2010 to December 2012, he served as the deputy secretary of the Party Committee and executive deputy director of the Public Security Bureau of Baotou, working with Li Zhibin and Du Baojun. However, this deputy bureau-level cadre, rumoured to be one of the “3,000 Shanghai orphans”, seems to be much luckier. In mid-August, the official website of the Autonomous Region Procuratorate showed that Baoyin Deli Ge’er was appointed as the deputy inspector of the procuratorate.

On 27 May, Su Yu, the former director of the Standing Committee of the Baotou Municipal People’s Congress, who had been immersed in the Baotou officialdom for more than 20 years, was investigated after retiring for a year and a half. Su Yu was promoted from deputy director to director of the Organization Department of the Baotou Municipal Committee in 2004, joining the Standing Committee led by Xing Yun. He later served as deputy secretary of the Municipal Party Committee and concurrently as secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee, working alongside another “tiger” Mo Jiancheng, who replaced Xing Yun in December 2006, for three and a half years.

In less than a month, another high-ranking official from the Autonomous Region Public Security Department fell. On 25 June, Zhao Yunhui, a member of the Party Committee and deputy director (at the level of director general) of the Public Security Department of the Autonomous Region, was suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and was placed under disciplinary review and investigation. Zhao Yunhui, in his 60s, who was born in November 1959, also has a long history of working in the Baotou public security system. He graduated from the Inner Mongolia Political and Legal School in 1980 and was assigned to the Baotou Municipal Public Security Bureau. He started as a clerk in the office and a technician in the criminal investigation team, and worked in various departments including the Legal Affairs Division, the Household Registration Division, and the Donghe Branch. In December 2005, he was promoted to deputy director of the Baotou Municipal Public Security Bureau and served as the deputy to Meng Jianwei for more than four years. In September 2010, when Meng Jianwei was promoted to deputy director general of the Autonomous Region Public Security Department, Zhao Yunhui was also transferred to the Director of the Xing’an League Public Security Bureau.

In January 2013, Zhao Yunhui was transferred to the position of deputy mayor and director of the Public Security Bureau of Hohhot City, and the same year he concurrently served as the Deputy Director General (at the level of director general) of the Autonomous Region Public Security Department. He once again worked alongside Meng Jianwei, Du Baojun, and later Li Zhibin. His positions as deputy mayor and director of the Public Security Bureau in Hohhot were also succeeded by Li Zhibin in early 2016. On 20 November 2019, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate website announced that Zhao Yunhui was suspected of bribery and having a significant amount of unexplained wealth. The investigation by the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Supervisory Commission concluded, and the case was transferred to the procuratorial organ for examination and prosecution. Recently, the Tongliao City Procuratorate made the decision to arrest Zhao Yunhui on charges of bribery and having a significant amount of unexplained wealth.

From 29 September 2018, when Du Baojun, the Deputy Director of the Hohhot Municipal Public Security Bureau, was investigated, to 25 June 2019, when Zhao Yunhui, the Deputy Director of the Autonomous Region Public Security Department, was removed from office. In just nine months, more than a dozen officials from Baotou, Hohhot, and the Autonomous Region fell in the storm. Among them, apart from Xing Yun, the powerful figure who commanded authority in the Standing Committee of the Autonomous Region Party Committee, the Baotou Municipal Party Committee, and the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of the Autonomous Region, Meng Jianwei, Zhao Yunhui, and Li Zhibin all served as Deputy Directors of the Autonomous Region Public Security Department–the first two of whom held the position of deputy director general. Meng Jianwei and Su Yu served as members of the Standing Committee of the Baotou Municipal Party Committee and as Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee, while Dong Binghui served as Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Political and Legal Affairs Committee. Meng Jianwei served as director of the Baotou Municipal Public Security Bureau, and Zhao Yunhui, Du Baojun, Li Zhibin, and Huang Qiang served as deputy directors. Zhao Yunhui and Li Zhibin served as deputy mayors and directors of the Public Security Bureau of Hohhot City, while Du Baojun served as deputy director.

In the conclusion of the investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission on Xing Yun, it was pointed out that serious violations of the Party’s system for selecting and appointing personnel and the political ecology of the regions where they served were involved.

According to the informants, there are still several retired bureau-level officials from the public security and procuratorate systems of autonomous regions who have yet to turn themselves in to the supervisory commission. Fewer people expected that, as the crackdown on the Inner Mongolia political and legal woes led by Xing Yun approached its conclusion, on 11 June, a news release posted on the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission once again shook the Hohhot-Baotou-Erdos triangle area: Yun Guangzhong, Xing Yun’s fellow townsman from Tumed Banner and a member of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Party Committee, and secretary of the Hohhot Municipal Committee, is suspected of serious disciplinary and legal violations and is undergoing disciplinary review and investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission.

There is yet another long list of corrupt officials who have fallen from grace during his tenure as mayor and secretary of the Erdos Municipal Committee over the past three years: Li Shirong, former member of the Erdos Municipal Committee and executive deputy mayor; Fu Wanhui, former member of the Erdos Municipal Committee, executive deputy mayor and former director of the Autonomous Region Water Resources Department; Zhao Wenliang, former member of the Erdos Municipal Committee, deputy mayor, and former deputy director of the Autonomous Region Development and Reform Commission; Wang Fengshan, former chairman of the Erdos Municipal Political Consultative Conference; Wang Dongwei, former member of the Erdos Municipal Committee and former deputy secretary of the Chifeng Municipal Committee; and Su Jianrong, former member of the Erdos Municipal Committee and Minister of Propaganda.

The “umbrella above the umbrella” of the gangs

The German philosopher Nietzsche once said, “When you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.” Without the “national crackdown campaign on gang crimes” launched by the authorities in 2018, it is hard for ordinary people to imagine that the police director would collude with the gang underworld. Xing Yun and others who held key positions in public security, procuratorial, and judicial organs, wielded the power of violence. The greatest harm is not only the disruption of the political ecology in the areas where they serve, but also the direct consequence of corruption within the local public security system, leading to a breakdown in social order. The most typical case is Meng Jianwei, who successively served as the chief of police in Wuhai, Ulanqab, and Baotou. As the police chief of Baotou for over seven years, he was known as the “umbrella above the umbrella” for the criminal forces in Baotou.

Meng Jianwei, who has successively served as the Chief of Police in Wuhai, Ulanqab, and Baotou, has controlled the public security bureaus in Baotou for over seven years, earning the nickname “the Umbrella above the Umbrella” for his involvement with criminal forces in Baotou.

In June 2019, the website of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision published an article stating that Meng Jianwei disregarded party discipline and national laws, committed law enforcement violations, improperly intervened in cases, and personally acted as a “protective umbrella” for criminal forces. As early as October 2008, during his tenure as a member of the Standing Committee of the Baotou Municipal Committee, Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee, and Chief of the Public Security Bureau, Meng Jianwei had a close relationship with the head of a criminal organisation, Guo, the owner of a hotel in Baotou. He turned a blind eye to Guo’s involvement in illegal activities such as “gambling, prostitution, and drug trafficking” in Baotou. In 2009, a dispute arose between this hotel and another hotel in Baotou. Both sides promoted accusations of involvement in “gambling, prostitution, and drug trafficking” against each other online. During the investigation by the Baotou Public Security Bureau, Meng Jianwei instructed relevant personnel to handle Guo’s hotel leniently. This allows it to continue its illegal operations. This leniency contributed to the growth and expansion of Guo’s criminal organisation.

The individual referred to as “Guo” in the text is Guo Quansheng. Born in the early 1960s, he is the owner of the well-known commercial landmark in Baotou, the Wanhao International Hotel (referred to as Wanhao Hotel). According to the words circulating in the community, he is known as “Guo Tuzi (Guo the Bald)”.

Guo Quansheng is a figure whose official name is known by few, but he has the reputation of an individual whose nickname precedes him. In official media, Guo Quansheng is portrayed as a successful private entrepreneur, a philanthropist frequently seen on television actively participating in charity work and often meeting with leaders. However, according to the words circulating in the community, “Guo Tuzi” is considered to be “the biggest gang figure in Baotou”. His Wanhao Hotel engages in all sorts of illicit activities such as “gambling, prostitution, and drug trafficking”. Yet, he manages to navigate both legal and illegal worlds.

People familiar with Guo Quansheng described him to the Caixin reporter that Guo Quansheng is of medium height and unremarkable appearance, but he is sharp-minded and full of ideas. “(He is) extremely cunning,” one said.  Looking back on Guo Quansheng’s early life–it’s a story of a street thug transforming into a renowned entrepreneur.

Guo Quansheng had a criminal record. During the first crackdown campaign on gang crimes in 1983, Guo Quansheng was sentenced for hooliganism alongside several other thugs. Guo Quansheng’s father was originally a worker at the Inner Mongolia Packaging Factory, and their family lived in the factory’s staff quarters. After his release from prison, Guo Quansheng gathered some fellow thugs, quickly gaining notoriety. Fearing that he would continue to cause trouble, the factory leaders arranged for him to work at the factory. Later, the factory underwent a series of changes, first being subcontracted to private individuals, then being restructured. Through various rounds of manoeuvres, Guo Quansheng somehow became the owner of the factory, which was renamed Inner Mongolia Longsheng Construction and Installation Engineering Co., Ltd. (referred to as Longsheng Company below). According to business registration information, Longsheng Company has a registered capital of 100 million CNY, with Guo Quansheng holding an 80% stake.

Longsheng company has invested in three companies: Baotou Hongfa Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. (referred to as Hongfa Real Estate below), with a 90.91% controlling stake; Baotou Longxing Small Loan Co., Ltd., with a 70% controlling stake; and Inner Mongolia Mengxi Cement Co., Ltd., with a 1.51% shareholding. Apart from its headquarters, Longsheng Company also has several branches in Baotou, Xilingol League, and other areas.

Insiders revealed that initially, Longsheng Company mainly relied on contracting construction and installation projects. Later, a private entrepreneur renovated and expanded the construction of the original Baotou hotel. Longsheng company was involved in the undertaking of the construction. But when the project approached the end, the private entrepreneur was unable to pay off the construction fee due to financial difficulties. Longsheng Company then took over the project. This eventually led to the transformation of the building into the Wanhao Hotel, a renowned landmark in Baotou. “Almost everyone in Baotou knows that there are illicit activities such as gambling, prostitution, and drug trafficking in the Wanhao Hotel. But the Baotou police dare not to intervene. It is said that when personnel from the tax bureau went to conduct tax inspections, ‘Guo Tuzi’ had them beaten up and thrown out, warning them not to dare to inspect again.”

In January 2018, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued a notice on “launching a special campaign to crack down on gang crimes”. On 23 January of the same year, the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission held a national television and telephone conference on the special campaign against gang crimes, officially kicking off the campaign of cracking down on gang crimes. In May of that year, Guo Quansheng was taken into custody. On 9 September of the same year, the Bayannuur city police in Inner Mongolia issued a public notice soliciting information from all sectors of society on clues of  illegal activities involving Guo Quansheng and his associates. The notice stated that Guo Quansheng and his accomplices were suspected of organising prostitution, false investment, and obstructing official duties.  They had been arrested with the approval of the Bayannuur Municipal Procuratorate. Eighteen days later, the Bayannuur City police issued another notice calling on the public to report any information on criminal activities involving Zhang Baoquan, Yao Jingyi, Gu Qing, and others. Zhang, Yao, Gu, and others were all under Guo Quansheng’s command. In October, Meng Jianwei, who had already retired, was also taken into custody.

According to the information released on the People’s Procuratorate’s case information disclosure website, on 26 July 2019, the Bayannuur procuratorial organs prosecuted the major gang-related case, known as the “5.08” case, with Guo Quansheng as the leader. Among them, the Linhe District Procuratorate prosecuted Guo Quansheng and 22 other individuals, as well as two corporate defendants, to the Linhe District Court. The Dengkou County Procuratorate prosecuted Zhu Huiwen and 25 others to the Dengkou County Court. The indictment accused Guo Quansheng, Zhang Baoquan, and 38 others of organising, leading, and participating in a gang-related organisation, engaging in illegal activities, seizing enormous economic benefits, committing evil deeds, and dominating the area, seriously disrupting the political, economic, and social order of Baotou City. The organisation is suspected of crimes,  including organising, leading, and participating in gang-related activities, extortion, organising prostitution, and operating gambling establishments, among others.

The aforementioned article from the Inner Mongolia Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision also revealed that under the protection of Meng Jianwei’s “big umbrella,” the Baotou Public Security System nurtured several “police umbrellas” who colluded with criminals. For example, Du Baojun, the then deputy director of the Baotou Public Security Bureau in charge of public security work, was aware of the illegal activities such as gambling and obstructing official duties conducted by Guo Quansheng, Zhang Baoquan, and their businesses, yet he still intervened in law enforcement, exerted influence, and sheltered and tolerated the illegal activities of these gang-related organisations. Huang Qiang, the then deputy director of the Baotou Public Security Bureau and director of the Kundulun District Public Security Bureau, tolerated crimes and accepted 500,000 CNY from Wang, an unemployed individual who made profits from gambling and mahjong. Xia Jingkui, the then director of the Kundulun District Public Security Bureau, had long-term associations with individuals involved in organised crime, even directly commanding and participating in illegal activities such as usury and drug-related crimes. Liu Haiqing, the party secretary and director of the Qingshan District Public Security Bureau of the Baotou Public Security Bureau, sheltered and tolerated suspects of intentional injury who were known to be guilty, failed to provide forensic examination reports of the victims when applying for arrests to the procuratorate, resulting in the withdrawal of the case after the procuratorate decided not to approve the arrest.

According to authoritative sources, some local police officers have formed small circles of interest in alliances with criminal forces, with Meng Jianwei at the centre. He accepts bribes from these corrupt and degenerate police officers, further establishing personal dependency relationships. He shields and protects them, promotes them irregularly, and becomes the “umbrella above the umbrella” for criminal forces.

The Caixin reporter has learned that during Meng Jianwei’s tenure in Baotou, more than 20 cadres in the city’s public security system have sent him money, totalling over 4 million CNY. For example, in 2003, a police station director heard that Meng Jianwei had bought a new house, so he volunteered to help, arranging for someone to renovate the house and paying 172,000 CNY for the renovation on behalf of Meng Jianwei. In March 2004, Meng Jianwei promoted this police station director to deputy director of a certain branch of the municipal public security bureau as a favour. At the end of 2006, Meng Jianwei planned to sell his old house. His subordinate, Xia Jingkui, took the initiative to buy the property for 900,000 CNY. In July 2007, Meng Jianwei transferred Xia Jingkui to serve as deputy director of the Kundulun District Public Security Bureau and put him in charge. Xia Jingkui seized the opportunity to offer 200,000 CNY. At the end of the year, Meng Jianwei promoted Xia Jingkui to director of the bureau.

The protective umbrella for Guo Quansheng, Zhang Baoquan, and gang-related organisations was not just these officials within the police force. According to the review conclusions released by the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, Lu Zhi, who served as the Deputy Mayor of Baotou City from October 2014 to January 2019, and Hong Tao, the former Director of the Baotou Cultural Bureau who later retired and became the General Manager of Wanhao International Hotel, also deeply colluded with Guo Quansheng, Zhang Baoquan, and others. They leveraged their power and personal connections to engage in corrupt practices, providing support and assistance to the gang led by Guo Quansheng. During Lu Zhi’s tenure as the Secretary of the Jiuyuan District Committee in Baotou City from 2011 to 2012, he knew full well that Zhang Baoquan was a key member of Guo Quansheng’s criminal organisation. However, he used his position to personally intervene and secure several large projects for Zhang Baoquan in the Jiuyuan District, allowing him to make substantial profit  and providing economic support to the criminal organisation, thereby facilitating its expansion. In February 2012, Lu Zhi invested 1 million CNY in the Baotou Modern Ecological Agriculture Co., Ltd., operated by Zhang Baoquan, under someone else’s name, holding a 49% stake. Lu Zhi also allowed his wife and daughter to travel to Europe, the United States, Australia, and other countries with Zhang Baoquan and others for tourism, with all expenses covered by Zhang Baoquan.

On 19 September 2019, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate website announced that the case of Meng Jianwei had been designated for jurisdiction and would be prosecuted by the Hulunbuir City Procuratorate to the Hulunbuir City Intermediate People’s Court. The prosecution accused Meng Jianwei of exploiting his positions as the director of the Baotou Public Security Bureau, a member of the Baotou Municipal Committee, secretary of the Political and Legal Committee, and deputy director of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Public Security Department, to solicit or illegally accept property from others for personal gain. He also used his position to provide undue benefits to others and solicit bribes, with an exceptionally large amount of money involved. Meng Jianwei’s assets and expenditures significantly exceeded his legitimate income, with a huge discrepancy that could not be explained by legal means. Additionally, he violated firearms management regulations by illegally possessing firearms and ammunition. Therefore, he should be held criminally liable for bribery, having an unusually large amount of unexplained property, and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.

Private morality and public corruption

Meng Jianwei’s legal violations were not limited just to illegal intervention in cases and personally acting as a “protective umbrella” for criminal forces, sheltering his former subordinates who bred multiple “umbrellas” for criminal forces. Moreover, he also tacitly allowed his family members to misuse his authority and influence to engage in corruption and illegal activities within his jurisdiction, interact with individuals involved in criminal activities, and intervene in relevant cases–becoming a “family-style” corruption “umbrella.”

According to the Caixin reporter, during Meng Jianwei’s tenure as a member of the Baotou Municipal Committee and Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee, his wife opened a rare stone shop under someone else’s name. While the merchandise was supposedly sourced from Yunnan by his wife through acquaintances, most of the high-quality items such as bloodstone and jade were gifts from others. The rare stone shop became a channel for laundering illegally obtained gains and further accumulating wealth. For example, in exchange for Meng Jianwei’s favour, Guo Quansheng once spent 600,000 CNY to purchase two petrified wood fossils from this rare stone shop. Individuals from the hotel industry and enterprises in Baotou involved in public security management also frequently visited the rare stone shop, spending tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of CNY without bargaining.

Meng Jianwei’s two sons are also not to be outdone. According to the aforementioned Inner Mongolia Commission for Discipline Inspection website article: In June 2011, a suspect of operating a gambling house escaped further investigation and trial after being released on bail with the help of Meng Jianwei’s eldest son. Meng Jianwei’s second son leads a morally corrupt, luxurious lifestyle, and he associates with idle individuals in society. He accepted bribes without guilt after helping others, and illegally possessed firearms and ammunition.

The corruption within the Meng Jianwei family is not isolated but rather coordinated. Each member plays their role and supports each other. Meng Jianwei not only leverages his influence but also directly assists. His eldest son was involved in a car city project in Qingshan District, Baotou City. Meng Jianwei personally coordinated with the main leaders of Baotou City and relevant functional departments to expedite the approval and construction of the project. A deputy director of the Criminal Investigation Brigade of a sub-bureau of the Baotou Public Security Bureau gave Meng Jianwei’s second son 10,000 USD and asked for a promotion. Meng Jianwei then promoted him to brigade leader. A mining boss, Sun, sought help from Meng Jianwei’s second son in a mineral rights dispute. His son asked his mother to “negotiate” with the other party’s mine owner.  Upon hearing it was Meng Jianwei’s wife, the other party immediately agreed to withdraw from the dispute. Later, Sun sent 1 million CNY as gratitude.

In fact, Meng Jianwei’s wife, Liu Liping, and his second son, Meng Gendalai, are both public officials in the discipline inspection and political and legal systems. On 2 November 2018, two days after Meng Jianwei was investigated, Liu Liping, who was a former director-level staff member of the Traffic Police Detachment of the Baotou Public Security Bureau, and Meng Gendalai, who was a deputy county-level prosecutor of the Baotou Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, were both subjected to disciplinary review and supervision investigation for suspected disciplinary and legal violations.

On 12 September 2019, the Hulunbuir City Procuratorate announced that Meng Gendalai was suspected of bribery and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. The investigation found that Meng Gendalai, using the power and position of his father Meng Jianwei, facilitated illicit benefits for Sun, Cao, and Wang, receiving over 2 million CNY in bribes from them.

In contrast, the immediate family members of Xing Yun did not follow him into the depths of corruption. His wife had previously worked as a music teacher in a middle school in Shiguai District and was said to be articulate and not a shallow person. However, several individuals with specific relationships to Xing Yun became casualties in the power and interest field. Xing Yun’s disciplinary inspection report included allegations of moral degradation in his personal life and engaging in corrupt practices involving power, money, and sex.

According to the Caixin reporter, at least two women closely associated with Xing Yun were implicated. One was the sister of Li Zhibin, who was detained on the same day as Xing Yun. The other was Shi Suzhen, former vice-chairman of the Baotou Municipal Political Consultative Conference.

Shi Suzhen, at the age of 57, began working in the Labour Service Company of the Baotou Mining Bureau in the early 1980s and later transferred to the Finance Department of the Shiguai District Cement Factory. It was roughly during this period that she became acquainted with Xing Yun, who held a position in the Shiguai District government. In 2001, while working as a clerk in the office of the Bank of China Baotou Branch, Shi Suzhen began her political career. She held positions such as assistant researcher, deputy director of the Baotou administration for industry and commerce, and deputy director of the Baotou rare earth high-tech zone management committee. She was elected the vice chairman of the Baotou municipal political consultative conference in March 2006, a position she held continuously through re-elections.

In May 2019, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Commission for Discipline Inspection announced the investigation conclusion of serious disciplinary and legal violations by Shi Suzhen: transferring and concealing involved assets to obstruct organisational investigations; failing to report personal matters according to regulations; and engaging in transactions involving power, money, and sex.

Similarly, “transferring and concealing involved assets” became one of the reasons for the downfall of Xing Yun’s younger sister, Xing Yanju, former deputy inspector of the Standing Committee of the Hohhot Municipal People’s Congress. Xing Yanju, two years younger than Xing Yun, had previously served as the director of the Hohhot Municipal Housing Bureau, secretary and deputy secretary of Saihan District, and vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the Hohhot Municipal People’s Congress.

On 29 October 2019, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate website announced that Xing Yanju was charged with bribery, concealing and disguising the proceeds of crime. The case was transferred to the Hulunbuir City Intermediate People’s Court by the Hulunbuir City Procuratorate for prosecution. The prosecution accused Xing Yanju of taking advantage of her positions as deputy director and director of the Hohhot Municipal Housing Bureau, secretary and deputy secretary of Saihan District, and vice chairman of the standing committee of the Hohhot Municipal People’s Congress to seek or illegally accept property from others for personal gain. She also allegedly used her position to obtain illicit benefits for others and accepted large sums of money. Xing Yanju was aware that the assets were proceeds of crime and transferred them illegally. She was charged with bribery, concealing, and disguising the proceeds of crime.

Insiders informed the Caixin reporter that after Xing Yun was investigated, Xing Yanju hastily attempted to transfer her assets but was intercepted by law enforcement personnel on the way.

The Caixin intern reporter Shi Wanshuang also contributed to this article.

Note: This article was published in the 45th issue of Caixin Weekly in 2019, under the original title: “Cover Story | The landscape of Inner Mongolia’s political and legal woes.”