On April 26, former Party Secretary and Director of the Guangdong Provincial Health Commission, Duan Yufei, was placed under investigation. This comes five months after Duan’s successor, former Director of the Guangdong Provincial Health Commission Zhu Hong, was also removed from office.
Authorities announced on the 26th that Duan Yufei is suspected of “serious violations of discipline and law” and is currently under review and investigation.
Duan Yufei, 63 years old, hails from Zixing, Hunan. He previously served as a member of the Standing Committee of the Shaoguan Municipal Committee in Guangdong, Executive Vice Mayor, Director, and Party Secretary of the Guangdong Food and Drug Administration. In May 2016, he became the Party Secretary and Director of the Guangdong Provincial Health Commission, and following the organizational reform in 2018, he became the Director and Party Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Health Commission. In September 2021, he was appointed as the Vice Chairman of the Education, Science, Culture, Health Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress of Guangdong Province, a position he held until the current investigation.
Multiple officials from the Guangdong Provincial Health Commission have come under scrutiny in recent times.
Upon Duan Yufei’s transfer from the position of Director and Party Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Health Commission, Zhu Hong took over his role. However, Zhu Hong was also investigated in November 2023.
In December 2023, Xu Qingfeng, a member of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Guangdong Provincial Health Commission, Party Secretary and Director of the Provincial Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, was also implicated. In October of the same year, Chen Yuansheng, former Deputy Secretary and Director of the Party Committee of the Guangdong Provincial Health and Family Planning Commission, was also investigated.
These successive investigations within the health sector in Guangdong Province have raised concerns about the governance and integrity of officials in positions of authority. The crackdown on corruption and misconduct seems to be ongoing as authorities strive to uphold transparency and accountability in public service.