Former Xi'an Party secretary expelled from CPC and public office

Fang Hongwei, Party secretary of Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi province, has been expelled from the Communist Party of China and removed from public office for violating Party disciplines and national laws, China's top anti-corruption watchdogs announced on Tuesday.

The CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Commission of Supervision said in a statement that they have completed an investigation of Fang's case and found that he interfered with inspections and participated in superstitious activities.

It was discovered that Fang violated regulations by accepting banquets and travel arrangements, failed to comply with rules on reporting personal affairs, and engaged in improper selection and appointment of officials, according to the statement.

He was also found to have violated rules by accepting cash gifts, holding shares in unlisted companies, exploiting his position for the benefit of family members, and permitting or acquiescing in his wife's use of his official standing for personal profit, it said.

Additionally, he was discovered to have accepted huge amounts of money in exchange of taking advantage of his positions to seek benefits for others in matters such as project contracting and personnel promotion, it added.

The commissions noted that they decided to expel Fang from the CPC and dismiss him from public office because he had seriously violated Party disciplines and national laws. They said that the evidence of his suspected bribery crimes have been transferred to prosecutors for further review.

Fang, 60, a native of Shaanxi, was placed under investigation in November 2025.

Publicly available information shows that he joined the Party in April 1987. After graduating from Tsinghua University in August 1989, he started his career in Shaanxi's automobile manufacturing industry.

Since 2015, he has held various positions in multiple cities across Shaanxi, including serving as vice-mayor of Baoji, executive vice-mayor of Weinan, and mayor of Hanzhong.

In 2021, he became a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee as well as Party secretary of the Xi'an city Party committee.