Qin Yuhai (; born March 1953) is a Chinese politician and photographer. Born in

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...

, Qin rose to high office in the province of

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

, where he successfully served as the Mayor and Communist Party Secretary of the city of

Jiaozuo Jiaozuo ( ; postal: Tsiaotso) is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Henan province, China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yellow River, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the south, Xinxiang to the east, Jiyuan to the ...

, the Vice-Governor of Henan, the provincial director of Public Security, First Political Commissar of the Henan Division of the

People's Armed Police ) , abbreviation = PAP ("People's Armed Police") CAPF ("Chinese Armed Police Force"), formerly abbreviated''Wujing'' ( zh , s = 武警 , p = Wǔjǐng , l = Armed Police , labels = no ), or WJ as on vehicle license plates , patch ...

, and the Vice-Chairman of the Henan Provincial People's Congress. Qin was investigated for corruption-related offenses and expelled from the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...

(CCP) in early 2015. He faces criminal charges related to taking bribes related to his photography hobby during his time in office.

Biography

Qin was born and raised in

Tailai County Tailai County () is a county in the west of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, bordering Inner Mongolia to the west and Jilin province to the south. It is the southernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Qiqih ...

in March 1953. He began work in February 1971 and joined the CCP in March 1976. From February 1997 to December 1998, he served as the deputy party chief and mayor of

Hegang Hegang (, also known as Heli and Xingshan), is a prefecture-level city in Heilongjiang province of the People's Republic of China, situated in the southeastern section of the Lesser Khingan Range, facing Jiamusi across the Songhua River to the s ...

, in Heilongjiang. Then he was transferred to

and appointed the deputy party chief and mayor, he was re-elected in January 1999. In February 2001, he was promoted to become the party chief, a position he held until January 2004. He became the vice-governor of He'nan in January 2004, and concurrently the head of the Department of Public Security, effectively the top police chief of the province. He served in the post until January 2013. In January 2013, he was appointed as vice chairman of He'nan Provincial People's Congress. He also held the post of party branch secretary of the provincial People's Congress.

Downfall

On September 21, 2014, state media reported that Qin would undergo investigation by the

Central Commission for Discipline Inspection The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) is the highest internal control institution of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), tasked with enforcing internal rules and regulations and combating corruption and malfeasance in the par ...

for "serious disciplinary violations". On February 13, 2015, at the conclusion of the internal party investigation, Qin was expelled from the Communist Party and detained by prosecution authorities. The party investigation concluded that Qin had taken massive bribes, cash gifts, and wasted public resources. It also said he sought illicit benefits for his associates and gave favorable treatment to certain businesses, and "committed adultery".武长顺秦玉海均收受巨额贿赂与他人通奸
/ref> Qin was sentenced for 13 years and 6 months in prison on November 28, 2016.

Photography

Qin Yuhai was the honorary chairman of the Photographers' Association of Henan Province, his albums included ''Mountains and Rivers of Jiaozuo'', ''Mount Yuntai Landscapes'', ''Mount Phoenix in October'', ''Glimpses of Wuda Lianchi Volcanic Field'', ''The Dreamland'', ''Wu Xiang – Water'', and ''the Real and China – Mount Phoenix''. At the time of the investigation into Qin in September 2014, Qin's photographic work ''Mount Yuntai Landscapes'' can be seen at various station platforms in the

Beijing Subway The Beijing Subway is the rapid transit system of Beijing Municipality that consists of 25 lines including 20 rapid transit lines, two airport rail links, one maglev line and 2 light rail lines, and 463 stations. The rail network extends acro ...

, including Jianguomen, Dawanglu, and Sihui East stations. In response to Qin's corruption investigation, Beijing Subway agreed to remove his works from the platforms. The ''

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...

'' reported that Qin used his power to give a company massive government contracts to promote a local mountain and tourist destination on billboards in the Beijing, Nanjing, and Shanghai subways, worth tens of millions of dollars. It was said that Qin had received bribes from the company in the form of cameras and assistance in promoting his work in China and abroad. In addition, Qin was said to have been so engrossed in his photography hobby that he spent almost all of his free time taking pictures of the Yuntai Mountain while holding the office of the Mayor of

, and neglected some of his official duties.

Awards

References

External links