Yaita Akio’s Viewpoint》China’s “tree-cutting secretary” was investigated and his official career was in danger

◎ Akio Yaita

On October 8, Chinese officials announced that Zhang Shuofu, deputy director of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial People’s Congress, was under investigation for suspected serious violations of discipline and law. This official has a resounding nickname, "Tree-cutting Secretary".

The Taipei City Government has recently cut down trees on a large scale, with 3,164 trees removed in 2025, more than double the same period in previous years. (Taken from the post)

Zhang Shuofu was originally a political star in the CCP officialdom. Born in 1965, he has served successively as deputy governor of Hunan Province and secretary of the Beijing Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection. He is regarded by the outside world as Wang Qishan's ally. In 2018, at the age of 53, he became the Secretary of the Guangzhou Municipal Party Committee, taking charge of one of the most important first-tier cities in China, and his official career is bright.

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Unexpectedly, it was the banyan trees that caused his political career to take a turn for the worse.

There are many large banyan trees on both sides of the streets in Guangzhou that have grown for decades, with dense branches and leaves, forming natural green tunnels. On hot summer days, citizens enjoy the coolness and chat under the shade of trees, which is a unique urban scenery in Guangzhou.

After Zhang Shuofu took office, the municipal government vigorously promoted urban landscape renovation and proposed a "road greening quality improvement" plan. However, this plan starts with cutting down trees. The city government explained that "the roots of banyan trees may damage roads and underground pipelines, and there are safety concerns when typhoons come." However, according to project documents, more than 4,300 trees are planned to be removed or cut down on seven major roads alone, including more than 3,000 banyan trees.

Many old trees that have accompanied the city for decades disappeared overnight. This caused great anger among the citizens.

The people spontaneously launched the "Defend the Banyan Tree" operation. Some people took to the streets and embraced the old tree with open arms; some took photos and videos and said goodbye to the banyan tree that accompanied them when they grew up. These protests did not have fierce political slogans, but they expressed the citizens' deep feelings for their hometown.

Zhang Shuofu, deputy director of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress, is under investigation for suspected serious violations of discipline and law. It is not known whether it is related to the tree felling case that year. The picture shows a street scene in Guangzhou. (Bloomberg file photo)

The incident got bigger and bigger, and finally alarmed Beijing. On December 3, 2021, Zhang Shuofu and Guangzhou Mayor Wen Guohui left office on the same day. Zhang Shuofu was transferred to deputy director of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress, which was a sinecure, and his official career stopped there.

Later, Guangdong Province announced the results of the investigation, and 10 officials were held accountable, and 5 of them were dismissed. Officials even characterized this urban renovation as "destructive construction," believing that it harmed people's beautiful memories and deep feelings about the city.

Now, Zhang Shuofu is under investigation for suspected violations of discipline and law. The issues involved this time have not been announced yet, and I don’t know if it is related to the tree felling case that year.

It may only take a few minutes to cut down an old tree, but it may take decades to grow. Politicians only serve for a few years, but the memory of a city lasts for generations. Even the Communist Party occasionally understands this truth, which is really worth pondering for politicians elsewhere.

(The author is a Japanese journalist and writer in Taiwan)

This article is reprinted with permission from Akio Yaita’s Facebook page