Internal struggles within the Chinese Communist Party have extended to the civil aviation system this year. Dozens of officials within the system have been investigated, spanning across various provinces. The focus of the crackdown has been on the airport system.
According to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Chinese Communist Party and the National Supervisory Commission, on October 9th, Zhang Rui, the Director of Airports at the Civil Aviation Administration of China, is under investigation for serious violations of discipline and law.
The Civil Aviation Administration is the official management agency for the civil aviation system, under the authority of the Ministry of Transport of the Chinese Communist Party. It is responsible for policy formulation, regulatory management, aviation safety supervision, airport and air traffic control, among other duties. Zhang Rui was promoted to the position of Director of Airports in September 2021.
Prior to this, corruption cases have emerged within local civil aviation systems.
In late August, four individuals at the Hunan airport were investigated, including Tang Chengwu, former member of the Party Committee and Deputy General Manager of Hunan Airport Management Group, Luo Yajun, former Party Committee Secretary and Minister of Supervision and Audit Department of the institution, Hu Zhixing, member of the Party Committee and Vice Commander of Hunan Airport Construction Command, and Hu Xiaoye, former Minister of Construction and Development Department of the Changsha Huanghua International Airport Branch of Hunan Airport Co., Ltd.
Furthermore, Liu Guolin, former member of the Party Committee and Deputy General Manager of the Hunan Airport Group, and over ten others were suspected of serious violations of discipline and law.
In August, Yao Xinmin, former member of the Party Committee, Director, and Deputy General Manager of Xinjiang Airport Group Co., Ltd., was investigated after retirement.
In July, Li Handong, Chairman of the Mianyang Airport Group Co., Ltd. in Sichuan, was removed from his position due to disciplinary issues.
In May, Li Ming, former member of the Party Committee and Deputy General Manager of Guangdong Airport Management Group Co., Ltd. retired for nearly three years before being investigated.
In April, Gong Bin, an engineer at the Project Management Office of the Construction Project Management Center of Beijing Capital International Airport Co., Ltd. was investigated.
In March, Lu Zhengming, former member of the Party Committee and Deputy General Manager of Qingdao International Airport Group Co., Ltd. in Shandong, was expelled from the Party.
In February, Yang Huiyuan, Executive Deputy Commander of the Liuping Airport Expansion Project Command Department of Guizhou Civil Aviation Industry Group Co., Ltd. was investigated.
Two more personnel within the airport system were arrested this year. According to the Guizhou Provincial Procuratorate in July, Shen Zhendong, former Chairman and General Manager of Guizhou Airport Group, was arrested on suspicion of bribery and abusing influence for bribery. Shen’s case went to trial at the end of August.
Additionally, in June, the Gansu Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection announced that Ji Yiming, former Party Committee Secretary and Deputy General Manager of Gansu Airport Investment Management Co., Ltd., was arrested on charges of bribery and influence peddling. Ji retired six years ago.
Apart from the airport system, other organizations related to civil aviation have also seen multiple individuals investigated.
In August, Yang Chunli, former Party Committee Secretary of Henan Xinyang Aviation Vocational College, was investigated.
In July, Fu Qian, Party Committee Secretary and Director of the Aviation Port Sub-bureau of the Zhengzhou City Public Security Bureau in Henan Province, was under investigation.
In June, Zhou Qiang, Party Committee Secretary and Chairman of China Aviation Fuel Group, and Lin Shoufu, former member of the Party Committee and Deputy General Manager of Ground Services Department at China Eastern Airlines Co., Ltd., were both investigated.
In April, Liu Wei, former Party Committee Secretary and Deputy Director in charge of Air Traffic Control at the Central-South Air Traffic Management Bureau, was investigated.
In January, Gong Haijiang, member of the Party Committee and Assistant General Manager of China Aviation Group Construction Development Co., Ltd., a giant state-owned enterprise, was under investigation.
Looking at the timeline, for ten consecutive months this year, every month has seen personnel within the civil aviation system investigated. Geographically, the purge has spread across ten provincial-level administrative regions, including Beijing, Shanghai, Hunan, Xinjiang, Sichuan, Guangdong, Shandong, Guizhou, Gansu, and Henan.