In December 2011, Wang made the final leap in his political career, becoming the provincial party chief of
Gansu. His selection to fill the top post in Gansu was seen as a promotion - although given his
Youth League pedigree and his diverse regional experiences, political observers characterized the move to the interior province as the final stage of Wang's lengthy political career, and thus relatively disappointing for Wang, who had spent his political life toiling in various locales around the country. In February 2013, online images of Wang wearing a luxury watch surfaced and spread around the internet. Wang ran into further trouble with the media in March 2016. A reporter of a
Lanzhou daily newspaper was arrested by
Wuwei police on dubious charges related to fraud and prostitution, stirring protests online. Reporters attempted to ask Wang, the first-in-charge of Gansu, what he thought of this incident, during the
2016 National People's Congress. Instead of giving an answer, it was said that Wang was mum about the incident in front of reporters, causing some dead air which angered the press. In January 2017, former
Lanzhou party chief
Yu Haiyan was placed under investigation for corruption, sending shockwaves on the Gansu political scene. Around this time, several prominent Gansu officials had committed suicide by jumping into the river. He was expelled from the Communist Party on September 22, 2017. In 2018 it was reported prosecutors alleged Wang had accepted bribes from
Ye Jianming of
CEFC China Energy in 2011. On April 11, 2019, Wang was sentenced 12 years in prison, and fined 4 million yuan for bribery in
Zhengzhou. == References ==