We all know the old saying “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”. Well, take note gentlemen: it seems there would be some truth in it after all. China’s famed concubine culture appears to be alive and kicking particularly amongst its politicians. Rumours of corruption and adultery are rife amongst some of the highest paid officials in the CCP and it is no secret that President Xi Jinping is striving to stamp it out in an attempt to give the party more credibility and restore public faith.

However, when these relationships with mistresses go sour, what is the impact of this fallout on the politicians themselves? The mistresses in question accumulate a lot of power during their time in the relationship – they often hold the upper hand knowing that the politician has a lot to lose if the relationship comes to light. On top of this, many of them obtain important knowledge about their business practices and activities during ‘pillow talk’ with their lover, making them a force to be reckoned with in the ensuing feud. Let’s take a look at some of the more high profile officials and how their mistresses got one over on them.

Fan Yue with his mistress Ji Yingnan. Photo: globalpost.com

1) Fan Yue

An official at the State Archives Administration had a mistress called Ji Yingnan, a young 25 year old anchor for the China Travel and Economic Channel.  According to Ji, the couple met in 2009 and she spent four years being lavished with extravagant gifts; even having an Audi and a Porsche gifted to her before being unceremoniously dumped and given some “economic compensation” after discovering that her beau was in fact already married with a teenage son. 

She then set about exposing the official on Sina Weibo, documenting the pictures they took together and the gifts she had been given, even claiming that he had proposed to her in 2011. These posts were removed from Sina Weibo the next day and a ban put in place against her but not before they had caught the eyes of investigators, curious as to how he could have gifted more than 10 million RMB worth of presents on his frugal salary.

2) Lei Zhengfu

Formerly the Chongqing Beibei District Party Secretary, 55 year old Lei ran into some unfortunate problems when his corruption came back to bite him after a property developer hoping to secure some favourable commercial decisions organised a sting operation. He filmed him having sex with his then 18 year old mistress whom it was said had been hired by the property developer as part of an elaborate extortion scheme.

The video was meant to serve as a means for blackmail but was uploaded to the internet, going viral within days. Lei was then fired and investigated for corruption (however his mistress didn’t quite escape clean – she was also arrested and handed a two year sentence suspended for two years).

3) Liu Tienan

In September 2014, the former Chinese politician who served as the Director of the National Energy Administration and the Deputy Director of National Development and Reform Commission was tried for corruption after being investigated for a series of offences in 2013. His mistress played a fundamental role in his downfall by sending documents related to the various overseas loan schemes that he was involved in to various media outlets.  

4) Wang Shouye

The Vice Admiral and Deputy Commander of the Chinese Navy, Wang Shouye, was turned in by an irate mistress after he refused her blackmail demands. Wang was accused of taking millions of dollars in bribes from developers, reportedly up to 120 million RMB, in return for lucrative contracts to build new barracks.

This allowed him to keep multiple mistresses, one of whom gave birth to his illegitimate child. When she demanded 3 million RMB in compensation, he refused and counter-offered with 1 million RMB. She was so incensed at not only this offer but also the military’s refusal to accept her child as legitimate that she turned him in to the authorities, exposing his deals by taking up a position outside the Navy headquarters in Beijing and distributing leaflets on a daily basis. Wang was subsequently arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment after a trial in 2006.

5) Pang Jiayu

Possibly the most unlucky of these men, the former Vice-Chairman of the People’s Political Consultative Conference in Shaanxi Province was unmasked by a joint complaint filed by all 11 of his mistresses. The mistresses were all wives of lower-ranking members in Pang’s authority during his time as mayor of Baoji.

Pang – nicknamed the ‘Zipper Mayor’ thanks to his penchant for female company – had assigned their husbands’ roles in a government financial firm that ultimately lost millions of Yuan. This led to the discovery of corruption, which resulted in the men being tried and sentenced to death or jailed for their participation in the firm. The women collectively brought a complaint to the central disciplinary body evidencing Pang’s corruption in retaliation for their husbands’ convictions.

6) Duan Yihe

Making this one of the most violent instances of being unearthed by a mistress, the Chairman of Jinan Municipal People’s Congress was tracked down after he killed his mistress Liu Haiping, by blowing up her car whilst she was driving. When police arrived at the scene, they discovered that the car licence plate belonged to a city official. A series of clues led them to Duan’s home where they found a number of pictures of the couple together, which revealed that their illicit relationship had been an open secret amongst many city officials.

According to police reports, Duan wanted Liu dead because of her outrageous demands for money even though he had already bought her a number of homes and provided jobs for her relatives. The police investigation named Chen Zhi as the man who planted the bomb under the car – he was a senior policeman in Jinan and a relative of Duan’s after marrying his niece. Chen confessed and testified that Duan had ordered the hit on his mistress. Duan was sentenced to death for murder, illegal possession of explosives and corruption.  

These cases are just the tip of the iceberg with thousands of disgraced officials being punished each year. A study published in January 2013 by the Crisis Management Centre at Renmin University Beijing, found that 95% of officials investigated for corruption were found to be maintaining relationships with women other than their wives. 

Whatever way these women choose to get their revenge, is it simply because they have had their hearts broken or is it to satisfy their greed by claiming an eye for an eye – seeking monetary compensation in the form of bribes to keep quiet about the affairs? With 15.4% of whistleblowers who reported cases of corruption found to be mistresses, one thing is clear: these women are proving themselves to be a formidable force against these powerful men. 

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Keywords: Chinese mistresses mistresses of Chinese officials