[People News] In the fog of high-level CCP politics, news often explodes like thunder. Jing Junhai, former Party Secretary of Jilin Province—once responsible for the major renovation of Xi Jinping’s father’s mausoleum and described as Xi’s “family servant”—has recently once again been reported as having been taken away for investigation.

Reports Say Jing Junhai Is Under Investigation Again

U.S.-based independent commentator Cai Shenkun posted on X on January 29 that Jing Junhai, the former Jilin Party Secretary who had repeatedly been rumored to be “in trouble,” was finally truly taken away on January 29. This time, he did not even have the chance to “make a public appearance to refute rumors,” and at the very least would not be spending the New Year at home.

The day before, Australia-based self-media commentator Jiang Wangzheng also released a video saying that ministerial-level official Jing Junhai was again under investigation.

Because both Cai Shenkun and Jiang Wangzheng are well-known for breaking insider news—and had previously predicted in advance the arrests or suicides of many senior CCP officials, including Zhang Youxia, Liu Zhenli, He Weidong, Xi’an Party Secretary Fang Hongwei, and even the death of Customs head Yu Jianhua—their reports have drawn attention.

Jing Junhai was previously rumored to be “in trouble” last November after Fang Hongwei, Xi’an’s Party Secretary, fell. At that time, overseas sources widely circulated news that Jing had been taken away by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. However, Jing later reappeared in public at his alma mater, Xidian University in Xi’an. Analysts believed that over the past six months, the CCP may have been weighing whether to investigate or arrest him.

Career Soared After Major Renovation of Xi’s Father’s Mausoleum

Public records show that Jing Junhai was born in 1960 and is, like Xi Jinping, from Shaanxi. From 2008 to May 2012, he served as Vice Governor of Shaanxi; in July 2015, he became Deputy Minister of the CCP Propaganda Department; in April 2017, Deputy Party Secretary of Beijing; in 2018, Governor of Jilin; in November 2020, Party Secretary of Jilin; in January 2021, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Jilin Provincial People’s Congress; and in July 2024, at age 63, he became Vice Chairman of the Education, Science, Culture and Public Health Committee of the National People’s Congress, effectively moving to a second-line, less powerful role.

His career rise began on the eve of Xi Jinping’s coming to power in 2012. In May of that year, shortly after becoming head of the Shaanxi Provincial Propaganda Department, Jing Junhai led a large-scale expansion project of the mausoleum of Xi Jinping’s father, Xi Zhongxun.

Xi Zhongxun’s mausoleum, located in Fuping County, Shaanxi, was first built in May 2005 and initially covered about 8 mu (roughly 1.3 acres). Jing oversaw three years of expansion. By September 2015, the mausoleum itself covered about 150 mu; including the surrounding ecological scenic area, the total area reportedly reached 40,000 mu. Nestled against mountains and water, it was mocked by overseas media as “the largest tomb complex in world history.” Jing personally supervised the project many times, inviting design experts to scrutinize everything from feng shui and geography to vegetation layout and the inscriptions on the monument.

Xi Zhongxun’s highest official rank had been Vice Chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, yet the mausoleum’s scale far exceeded that of other CCP elders. Outside observers believed this was the result of Jing’s flattery. In early 2015, Xi Jinping’s wife Peng Liyuan reportedly visited the site quietly, and Jing—then head of the provincial propaganda department—was among those accompanying her.

Jing’s résumé shows that after 2015 his career advanced frequently, rapidly rising to ministerial rank.

Jing Junhai May Not Have a Good Future

However, after Fang Hongwei’s fall, Jing was suddenly moved to a second-line post in July 2024. At the time, political observers said anti-Xi forces were trimming Xi’s allies, putting Jing in a precarious position. On November 11 that year, Jiang Wangzheng claimed on social media that Jing had been taken away by the discipline authorities and sent to the Beidaihe training center for questioning. Jiang said leaked information indicated that while serving in Beijing, the Propaganda Department, and later as Jilin’s Party Secretary and Governor, Jing had used his influence in Xi’an and among former subordinates to improperly handle personnel promotions and project contracts.

The Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi have been called China’s “ancestral dragon vein” by Xi. After senior Shaanxi officials were caught building villas there, a special “Protect Qinling” campaign was launched. Liu Guozhong, who later became Shaanxi Party Secretary, was credited with success in this campaign and was promoted to Beijing. His successor Zhao Yide styled himself “provincial-level forest chief of the Qinling responsibility zone,” publicly emphasizing protection of the Qinling ecosystem—widely seen as currying favor with Xi.

So how could Jing Junhai, once seen as a loyal “house servant” safeguarding Xi family feng shui and roots, possibly be arrested?

Analysts say this may be related to anti-corruption actions ahead of the CCP’s 21st Party Congress. Although Xi emphasizes “self-revolution,” internal dissatisfaction is rising. Some believe Jing’s case may also be meant to balance factions.

Cai Shenkun wrote on X that this path of “exchanging loyalty for career advancement” is inherently risky. Jing’s brief public appearance a few months ago may have been just a short respite before the storm. Being reassigned to a vice chairmanship in the NPC committee signaled a bleak outlook: a still–age-eligible provincial Party Secretary being sent early to a “political retirement home,” a marginal idle post, almost like a pre-sentence.

Cai added that Jing’s problem may not be simple corruption but misjudging boundaries and crossing an invisible yet fatal political red line. In a highly personalized power structure, “loyalty” is never a talisman—it is a consumable. It can bring meteoric rise, but once its usefulness is gone, it can become evidence in one’s reckoning.

Cai concluded philosophically: “Jing Junhai’s fate once again proves that in this system, there are no meritorious officials, only tools; no peaceful endings, only the question of whose turn it is.”

(People News first release) △