River's revival a case study in good governance

In one case, when serving as Party secretary of Wen'an county in Hebei province from 2021 to 2024, Ren Huashan was found by the CCDI to have pursued personal accolades through reckless decisions. Despite being aware of funding shortfalls, he launched multiple urban village resettlement projects without due diligence — delaying housing delivery, stranding villagers and leaving wages unpaid.

In February 2022, Ren also pushed ahead with a tourist attraction despite clear land-use and zoning violations. Parts of the project were demolished in September 2023, incurring huge losses.

For these and other serious violations, Ren was expelled from the Party and dismissed from office. His suspected crimes were transferred to prosecutors for further review.

Wang Chengbing received similar punishment. The CCDI found that, while holding the position of Party secretary in Jinxi county in Jiangxi province, Wang had prioritized economic growth over environmental safeguards by allowing heavily polluting chemical plants to be set up, weakening regulatory enforcement and ignoring persistent public complaints, thereby allowing a pollution crisis to fester.

Yang, from China University of Political Science and Law, warned that these are typical cases of distorted governance values. He said that the cost is not just wasted public funds, but also eroded public trust and a loss of public reputation.

He pointed out that the baseline of a correct governance philosophy is to abide by rules and never lose sight of the people.

"For officials who aim higher, the challenge lies in sharpening their governance know-how, translating national policies into tangible solutions for local communities, and steering growth that lasts," Yang said.