China’s health system anti-corruption drive nets another senior official in Guizhou

In Guizhou alone, at least five senior officials or ex-officials in the healthcare sector have been investigated for disciplinary violations and corruption in the first half of 2024. They included Jin Long, the chief of the health and family planning supervision bureau of the Guizhou provincial health commission, and Liang Xianquan, vice-chairman of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in the city of Guiyang and former party chief of Guiyang’s Second People’s Hospital.

Yang’s case surfaced just days after she returned from a study tour in Guangdong and Fujian provinces.

In media interviews, she had spoken about strengthening medical education, research and management to “build a Guizhou model of traditional Chinese medicine medical services”, and to improve the quality of Guizhou’s traditional medicines.

Yang has had a long career in the province’s healthcare system. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Chinese from Minzu University of China in 1994, Yang worked as a journalist for 10 years.

During her stint as deputy director of the Guizhou Provincial Health Commission from 2018, Yang was responsible for managing daily affairs, women and children’s health, and food safety standards. She also supervised party building in government departments and public hospitals.

In 2020, Yang was promoted to her current vice-ministerial level role as the party chief at the Guizhou provincial health commission.