For a decade, former Chongqing mayor Huang Qifan stood out as a political survivor while colleague after close colleague fell in China’s far-reaching anti-corruption campaign. Throughout that time, including his seven years as the megacity’s mayor from 2009 to 2016, Huang was seen as a “tumbler” in Chinese politics – a weighted doll that wobbles but never falls over. The nickname was well-deserved – he served under six municipal Communist Party secretaries, watching two of them – Bo Xilai and...

Huang Qifan, former mayor of Chongqing and a survivor of multiple regional graft scandals, is under investigation for corruption, according to state media. State news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday that the Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection was investigating Huang for alleged serious violations of discipline and law, a euphemism for corruption. Huang, 74, was mayor of the southwestern municipality from 2010 to 2016, overseeing an economic boom while navigating...

A group of Chinese officials are in the middle of a highly sensitive meeting involving critical decisions yet to be made behind closed doors, with documents stamped “classified” spread across the table. Suddenly, an invisible laser beams into the room, sweeping across a glass window and allowing the contents of the meeting to be transmitted elsewhere. China’s Ministry of State Security laid out this seemingly futuristic scenario six months ago, warning government departments and other entities...