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Read Full BioChinese authorities are cracking down on Communist Party cadres suspected of gambling-related offences.
Newspaper The Paper reported that the party has expelled Liu Jian, the former Party Secretary of Guizhou Provincial People’s Hospital, for gambling and bribery.
The Guizhou Province’s investigative unit, acting with the approval of the Guizhou Provincial Party Committee, said a probe into Liu was ongoing.
In the meantime, Liu has been forced to leave the Communist Party. The province has followed up by canceling his benefits, rescinding his qualifications, and “confiscating his illegal gains.”
Guizhou prosecutors will now review his case ahead of a trial, with bailiffs ordered to seize Liu’s assets.
Officials did not reveal any details of the amount of money Liu allegedly used to gamble, nor did they explain where, when, or how he placed wagers.
However, they explained that he had taken money from companies involved in drug procurement and supply.
They also said that he took bribes from bidders vying to secure medical project contracts at the hospital. Investigators said he “illegally accepted huge amounts” of money or other valuable assets.
The party said that Liu had seriously violated the disciplinary guidelines. Officials said his case “should be dealt with very seriously.”
Communist Party Cadres: Gambling Crackdown Underway?
Elsewhere, the media outlet Shanxi Law reported on the case of Zhou Jianfeng, a cadre serving at the Pingchuan District’s Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau in Gansu Province.
Investigators found that on March 14, 2025, Zhou took the afternoon off work. Later the same day, public security officials found him and several other individuals gambling on rounds of mahjong. The latter is a traditional and highly popular four-player Chinese tile game.
Gambling on mahjong is relatively common in China. Players typically place small wagers of up to $15 on their games. Previous attempts to ban mahjong in some parts of China have resulted in decidedly mixed results.
Police arrested and detained Zhou on March 15, detaining him for 10 days before releasing him with a 1,000 yuan ($139.50) fine.
However, as a cadre, Zhou also faced a separate probe from the Communist Party, which handed him a “serious warning” order earlier this month.
Gambling remains extremely popular in Mainland China, despite the party’s 1949 blanket ban on betting outside state-operated lotteries.
Earlier this month, a man was arrested in Xinjiang Province, suspected of trying to sell a thousand-year-old shroud torn from a mummified corpse at a protected archaeological site. Police said he was trying to raise funds to pay off gambling debts of around $28,000.
