Retired Deputy Director at Panda Research Center Caught Up in Graft Probe

A former deputy director of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, Zhang Haiqing, 63, is the subject of a graft investigation, as reported by authorities [para. 1]. The investigation is being conducted by a team from the party’s top anti-corruption agency stationed at the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA) and the supervisory commission of the Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture in Sichuan province [para. 2]. According to a statement from these departments, the probe into Zhang, who retired three years ago from the giant panda research center, could be related to his previous role at the institute [2, 3].

Zhang, named as one of the deputy heads of the research center under the NFGA in 2016, had been a visible public figure, participating in several significant events. Notably, Zhang was present at a ceremony in 2019 to send off the panda Yuan Yuan to Austria and another event in the same year to welcome back pandas Bai Yun and Xiao Liwu from the United States [para. 4]. His career spans over two decades working in Aba prefecture, during which he held various significant positions, including deputy secretary-general of the prefecture government, director of the region’s labor and social security department, and party secretary of Jinchuan county [para. 5]. Moreover, in June 2016, Yang Changqing, a former vice governor of the Aba region, also fell under a graft investigation, indicating a possible pattern of corruption probes within the region's administrative framework [para. 6]. The Quick Takes section emphasizes that these are condensed versions of China-related stories aimed at providing rapid, essential news [para. 7].

For further inquiries or more detailed stories, readers can contact the reporter Kelly Wang at jingzhewang@caixin.com or the editor Michael Bellart at michaelbellart@caixin.com [para. 8].