Feihe Bookkeeper Zhang Hongwen Quietly Dismissed After Disappearing for Months?

After being “missing” for several months, it has been reported that Zhang Hongwen, a member of the Anhui Provincial Committee and Secretary of the Hefei Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has been removed from his position. Zhang Hongwen is one of the high-ranking officials with a military background who has recently been rumored to have “encountered trouble.”

According to a March 14th report by The Paper, Zhang Hongwen no longer holds the position of member of the Anhui Provincial Committee and Secretary of the Hefei Municipal Committee.

However, the report did not specify the reason for Zhang Hongwen’s dismissal or his current whereabouts.

Born in April 1975, Zhang Hongwen had a long career in the aerospace system, holding positions such as Director of the Third Academy of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Chief Scientist, Vice General Manager of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, and starting from 2020, Vice Governor of Anhui Province, member of the Party Group, member of the Provincial Committee, Secretary of the Hefei Municipal Committee, and First Secretary of the Hefei Garrison Party Committee.

On March 28, 2024, during a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Anhui Provincial People’s Congress, Zhang Hongwen was removed from his position as Vice Governor of Anhui Province.

In January this year, Hong Kong’s Ming Pao reported that Zhang Hongwen chaired a meeting of the Municipal Committee Standing Committee on December 10, 2024, but then missed seven consecutive important meetings, including the 12th session of the Hefei Municipal Committee held on January 2. At that time, it was reported that the current Secretary-General of the Anhui Provincial Committee, Shan Xiangqian, was expected to succeed Zhang Hongwen.

In recent years, there have been incidents involving high-ranking officials from the CCP with military backgrounds.

On February 28, Jin Zhuanglong, a member of the Central Committee of the CCP and Secretary of the Party Group of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China who came from the aerospace system, was removed from his position. He has not been seen in public for several months and was absent from the opening ceremony of the National People’s Congress in March this year.

Xu Dazhe, former Secretary of the Hunan Provincial Committee and a member of the National People’s Congress, and Luo Qi, Chief Engineer of China National Nuclear Corporation, were also absent from the opening ceremony of this year’s National People’s Congress.

Since last year, there have been continuous absences from important meetings of officials such as Lei Fanpei, Executive Vice Director of the Office of the Central Military-Civil Fusion Development Committee, and Zhang Kejian, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Director of the National Defense Science and Technology Industry Bureau.

Within the CCP’s military-industrial complex, individuals such as Wu Yansheng, Chairman of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, Liu Shiquan, Chairman of China Ordnance Industry Group, Wang Changqing, Vice General Manager of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, Yuan Jie, Chairman of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, Chen Guoying, former General Manager of China Ordnance Equipment Group, Tan Ruisong, former Chairman of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) 1st Academy, Wang Xiaojun, former Deputy Director of the Rocket Force Research Institute, and Xiao Longxu, among others, have been confirmed to have encountered problems.

On August 22, 2024, Dai Shulong, Secretary of the Mudanjiang Municipal Committee of Heilongjiang Province and coming from a military-industrial background, was investigated. In November of the same year, Zhu Zhisong, member of the Shanghai Municipal Committee and Secretary of the Pudong New Area Committee who also came from the military-industrial system, was investigated.

Chen Zhaoxiong, former Chairman, and Wu Manqing, former General Manager of China Electronics Technology Group, have also been rumored to have encountered problems.

In January of this year, the resumes of Hao Zhaoping, General Manager of China Aviation Industry Corporation, and Yang Wei, Deputy General Manager, were removed. Yang Wei is known as the “father of the J-20” stealth fighter in the CCP.

At the end of last year, there was a leadership change in China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation. The former Chairman, Wen Gang, disappeared, and the Deputy Secretary of the Communist Party Committee, Du Gang, has not been seen in public for a long time. Following CCP tradition, these two individuals are likely to have encountered problems.

In a March article in Taiwan’s “Liberty Times,” independent commentator Du Zheng expressed that in recent years, the CCP’s handling of some high-ranking officials has become less transparent. They are being dealt with through “internal measures,” and some may even be secretly dealt with.