By Li Deyan, Vision Times
A widening corruption crackdown in China’s Xinjiang and Guangdong regions have fueled speculation that Ma Xingrui, former Party secretary of Xinjiang and a Politburo member, may become the first senior “tiger” to be brought down in 2026. As former subordinates fall one after another, analysts suggest Chinese leader Xi Jinping may ultimately be forced to sacrifice a once-trusted ally.
On Feb. 26, China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) announced that Mou Zongyi, former Party committee member and vice minister of the Xinjiang Public Security Department, was under investigation for “serious violations of discipline and law.”
Former Xinjiang subordinates under probe
Mou, born in June 1961 in Rizhao, Shandong Province, had served in multiple senior policing roles, including vice minister of Xinjiang’s Public Security Department and deputy director of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) Public Security Bureau.
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His case follows a string of detentions. On Jan. 8, Li Xu, a standing committee member and deputy commander of the XPCC, was removed from office. Since the start of 2026, several department-level officials in Xinjiang have been investigated, including Zhou Chunyang of the Aksu People’s Congress, Ainiwaer Tuerxun of the Kashgar Political Consultative Conference, Gao Yan of Aksu’s CPPCC working committee, and Ju Wei of the regional Emergency Management Department.
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The turbulence dates back to 2025. Over the past year, multiple senior political-legal officials across Kashgar, Hami, and Urumqi were removed while in office. In November 2025, Chen Weijun, former executive vice governor of Xinjiang and a close Ma associate, was placed under investigation. In December, Guo Lianshan, former deputy chief prosecutor of Xinjiang, was also probed.
Falling dominoes
The pattern extends beyond Xinjiang. Guo Yonghang, once Ma’s top aide during his tenure in Shenzhen and later elevated during Ma’s rise in Guangdong, was removed from his post as Guangzhou Party chief in December 2025. On Jan. 23, Guangdong authorities terminated his provincial People’s Congress delegate qualification.
U.S.-based commentator Cai Shenkun wrote on X: “On Jan. 23, the Standing Committee of the Guangzhou Municipal People’s Congress decided to accept Guo Yonghang’s resignation as a representative to the 14th Guangdong Provincial People’s Congress, and Guo Yonghang’s qualification as a representative to the Provincial People’s Congress was terminated. This is usually an important signal of the downfall of a high-ranking official.”
He added, “Previously, there was much discussion in Guangdong’s official circles, and whether Guo Yonghang would get into trouble depended on Ma Xingrui. If Ma Xingrui was safely removed from office, Guo Yonghang might have been able to secure a vice-chairman position in the Provincial People’s Congress, like his predecessor Zhang Shuofu. Now it seems that Guo Yonghang, who followed Ma Xingrui, is in grave danger.”
Though Guo was later appointed vice chairman of the Guangdong Provincial CPPCC, commentator Du Zheng wrote in Taiwan’s Up Media that the shift to a secondary position does not guarantee political safety.
Ma’s absences raise questions
Ma served as Xinjiang Party secretary from December 2021 to July 2025. Many of the officials now investigated were promoted during his tenure. Yet before completing his term, Ma was replaced by Chen Xiaojiang in July 2025.
While authorities stated he would receive “another appointment,” no new post materialized. Instead, both Xinjiang and Guangdong, regions previously overseen by Ma, have experienced sweeping purges.
His conspicuous absence from key meetings has intensified speculation. Ma missed the Nov. 28, 2025 Politburo study session, the December Central Economic Work Conference, and the late-December Politburo “democratic life meeting.” He remained absent from the CCDI’s fifth plenary session in January 2026 and from a high-level seminar at the Central Party School later that month.
Australian-based commentator Jiang Wangzheng claimed on X on December 26, 2025: “Ma Xingrui has been expelled from the Party and removed from public office and placed under investigation. He wasn’t even given the opportunity to conduct a self-criticism during the democratic life meeting. We’re just waiting for him to become the first tiger in 2026.”
Will Xi ‘cut down Ma’?
Rumors surrounding Ma’s fate center on alleged corruption during his time in China’s defense industry, Guangdong, and Xinjiang. Du Zheng argues that Ma was once politically favored by Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan, and associated with the rise of the “military-industrial faction.”
According to Du, Ma’s vulnerability may stem from corruption within the defense sector and alleged benefit transfers linked to embattled Evergrande founder Xu Jiayin. “The corruption of Ma Xingrui’s family has also been reported, which has put Xi Jinping and his wife in a difficult position. Du Zheng said that Xi Jinping had no choice but to ‘remove Ma Xingrui with tears in his eyes’ in the Year of the Horse.”
Speculation now focuses on timing. Du suggests authorities may announce Ma’s case around China’s annual National People’s Congress in early March. Alternatively, it could surface at the Fifth Plenum of the 20th Central Committee later this year.
As factional maneuvering intensifies within the Party’s upper ranks, Ma Xingrui’s political future remains uncertain. Whether he becomes 2026’s first fallen “tiger,” and what charges might ultimately be attached—could signal broader shifts in China’s internal power balance.
