Yu Yuanhui

Yu Yuanhui
余远辉
Communist Party Secretary of Nanning
In office May 2013 – May 2015
Preceded by	Chen Wu
Succeeded by	Wang Xiaodong
Communist Party Secretary of Wuzhou
In office 2006–2008
Preceded by	Ren Xiekang (任燮康)
Succeeded by	Liu Zhiyong (刘志勇)
Personal details
Born	January 1964 (age 52) Gongcheng Yao Autonomous County, Guangxi
Nationality	Chinese
Political party	Communist Party of China (expelled)
Residence	Nanning, Guangxi
Alma mater	Guangxi Agricultural College Dalian University of Technology
Occupation	Politician

Yu Yuanhui
Traditional Chinese	余遠輝
Simplified Chinese	余远辉
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Yú Yuănhuī

Yu Yuanhui (Chinese: 余远辉; born January 1964) is a Chinese politician of ethnic Yao heritage who spent most of his career in Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Until 2015, he served as the Communist Party Secretary of Nanning, capital of Guangxi, and was a Standing Committee member of the regional party organization. In May 2015, he was put under investigation by the Communist Party of China's anti-corruption agency.^[1] An alternate member of the Central Committee from 2007 until his downfall, Yu was duly expelled from the party and lost his Central Committee seat in 2015.

Career

Yu was born in Gongcheng Yao Autonomous County, Guangxi, in January 1964.^[2] He joined the Communist Party of China while attending university in December 1984. In 1986 he graduated from Guangxi Agricultural College (later merged into Guangxi University, majoring in agriculture.^[2] After graduating, he stayed at the school and become involved in the Communist Youth League organization there. In 1989, he began studying social sciences and political theory at Dalian University of Technology. By 1992, he had become the head of the Youth League organization at his alma mater, with a promising political future.^[3]

In 1995, he had joined the party organization in Qinzhou, and ascended through the ranks there. By 1998, he had assumed the post of deputy head of the provincial department of personnel. During his political career, Yu continued further education at the provincial party school, the Minzu University of China, and Guangxi University, eventually earning a master's degree in law. He was sent on a brief stint to study English in the United States.^[3]

In 2001, Yu, then 37, was made head of the Guangxi Communist Youth League organization. After taking on the position at the Youth League, Yu took part in further studies at Tsinghua University and also at Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.^[3] In 2006 he became the Deputy Communist Party Secretary and Mayor of Wuzhou, rising to Communist Party Secretary in 2008, and joining the Guangxi regional Party Standing Committee as its youngest member; a year later, he was named secretary-general of the provincial party committee.^[2]

Yu, an ethnic minority with a strong Youth League pedigree, and elected as an alternate member of the 17th Central Committee in 2007 at the mere age of 43, was seen as an up-and-coming political star.^[3]

In May 2013, Yu was appointed the Communist Party Secretary of Nanning. On May 23, 2015, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection announced that Yu was held for investigation. Yu's downfall was sudden; Yu had been active the week prior in all sorts of activities, including attending the opening ceremonies of the local multi-sporting competition. Prior to his downfall, Yu had also been vocal about the anti-corruption campaign.^[4]

Corruption investigation

On October 16, 2015, Yu was expelled from the Communist Party. The investigation concluded Yu had "violated political rules and political discipline," openly published "opinions contrary to the spirit of the policy of ruling the party strictly," practiced nepotism when selecting his secretary, obfuscated his activities, aided in the business interests of others, accepted bribes, wasted public funds, used his publicly funded vehicle for private purposes. The announcement came on the even of the 5th Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee, at which Yu's expulsion was confirmed.^[5]

Yu was a member of the 10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and an alternate member of the 17th and 18th Central Committees of the Communist Party of China.^[6]

References

1. 广西南宁市委书记余远辉被查 此前高调反腐推“花样南宁”. 21CN (in Chinese). 2015-05-23.
2. "Yu Yuanhui became the Communist Party Secretary of Nanning". CPC News (in Chinese). 2013-05-04.
3. "南宁市委书记余远辉深夜落马 曾是政坛潜力股". Caixin. May 23, 2015.
4. 广西壮族自治区党委常委、南宁市委书记余远辉涉嫌严重违纪违法接受组织调查. Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (in Chinese). 2015-05-22.
5. "内蒙古自治区党委原常委、自治区政府原副主席潘逸阳，广西壮族自治区党委原常委、南宁市委原书记余远辉严重违纪被开除党籍和公职". Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
6. 余远辉系十八大后落马的第11名中央候补委员. Ifeng (in Chinese). 2015-05-23.