Within ten-plus days after the New Year of 2024, at least 15 high-ranking Chinese officials died of illness, including Zhang Kehui, former vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a symbolic political advisory body; Xue Ju, former Party chief of Zhejiang Province, Zhou Daojiong, second chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC); and Sun Zaifu, former deputy Party chief of Hunan Province.
Zhang Kehui also served as deputy director of the Taiwan Affairs Office in the early 1990s, an organization that actively assists the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in its United Front work targeting Taiwanese.
Xue Ju, former Party chief of Zhejiang Province, died in Hangzhou on Jan. 12, 2024, due to illness. His other posts included vice president of the Party School, chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress; member of the 12th and 13th Central Committees of the CCP, and a deputy to the 6th and 8th National People’s Congresses.
Zhou Daojiong, the second chairman of the CSRC and former chairman of the Supervisory Board of China Construction Bank, passed away on Jan. 11, 2024, in Beijing. Mr. Zhou had served as the vice president of China Development Bank and the chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission; senior adviser of China State-owned Asset Management Association and the executive director of China Marxism Research Foundation.
Widow of PLA General
Also on the list is Hao Zhiping, the third wife of Luo Ruiqing, a general of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and Chief of the Joint Staff from 1959 to 1965.She died in Beijing on Jan. 4, 2024.
Ms. Hao herself served as Deputy Director of the Ministry of Public Security, member of the Party Committee of the General Counsel’s Office, among other high-level posts. She retired in 1988.
Her late husband, Mr. Luo, was one of the millions of victims of the Cultural Revolution. In the early stages of the political movement, he was branded as a member of a certain “anti-Party clique.” Unable to bear the humiliation and persecution, he attempted suicide by jumping from the third floor of a hotel after a “denunciation session,” surviving with both legs broken. This was seen as proof of his guilt, and he received further public criticism after he recovered. He was hospitalized several times in the following years and had his left leg amputated in 1969.
Nine Local Officials
The other nine deceased are local officials. All were members of the CCP.They are: Xie Qin, former deputy director of the Political Department of Huizhou Public Security Bureau and former director of Huizhou Mechanical and Agricultural Machinery Bureau; Jiang Xitong, former director of the No. 3403 Factory of the PLA and a retired cadre enjoying the benefits of vice-ministerial rank; Jiang Shuisheng, retired cadre of the United Front Work Department in Wuhan; Zhou Daolu, former political commissar of the teaching brigade of Shaanxi Military Region; Chen Wei, former head of the disciplinary inspection team of Shantou Intermediate Court in Guangdong Province; Wang Qi, former chief prosecutor of the Anqing Procuratorate Branch in Anhui Province, former deputy director of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of Anqing Municipality; Jiang Yonggui, former vice-chairman of the Municipal Committee of the CPPCC of Jixi City of Heilunjiang Province, Zhao Fu, former editor-in-chief and party chief of Liaoning Daily, and Wang Zhang, former deputy inspector of Chongqing Municipal Administration for Industry and Commerce.
