Zeng Qinghong
Zeng Qinghong (
simplified Chinese: 曾庆红
Pinyin: ZÄ"ng Qìnghóng) (born July
1939) is a Chinese politician. He became a member of the
Politburo Standing Committee and member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee during the
2002 16th Party Congress. In
2003 he became the
Vice President of the
People's Republic of China following his election by the
National People's Congress, thus replacing his predecessor
Hu Jintao, who now hold the posts of
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and
President of the People's Republic of China.
A native of
Ji'an,
Jiangxi Province, Zeng was born in July
1939. A graduate from the Automatic Control Department,
Beijing Institute of Technology, Zeng, like the eight other members of the 16th Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee is an
engineer, a specialist in automatic control systems. He joined the
Communist Party of China (CPC) in April
1960. Zeng belongs to the elite group of China's so-called Communist "
Crown Prince Party," the children of veteran revolutionaries. His father, Zeng Shan, was a
Red Army veteran and went on to become vice-mayor of
Shanghai in
1949 and minister of internal affairs in
1960. His mother, Deng Liuqin, was in charge of the Shanghai-based East China Kindergarten where the children of many senior officials were brought up.
Zeng spent the early part of his career as a technician in the military defense industry in Beijing. He was sent down to do manual labor on PLA bases in Hunan and Guangdong during the
Cultural Revolution. With the opening of the reform era, Zeng joined the State Development and Reform Commission in 1979 and then held a series of management positions in the state petroleum sector.
In 1984, Zeng moved to the Shanghai Municipal Government, where he became a key ally of then-mayor
Jiang Zemin. When Jiang was elevated to national leadership in
Beijing following the
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, he brought Zeng Qinghong along as his trusted advisor.
As the Deputy director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee from 1989 to 1993, Zeng guided Jiang, an outsider to national politics, through the inner workings of the party, military and bureaucratic structure in Beijing. He promoted Jiang's leadership and thinking, broadened Jiang's network, and became Jiang's right-hand-man. Over the
1990s, Zeng consolidated control of party organs responsible for the appointment of cadres to important political positions. As head of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee from
1999-
2002, he strengthened Jiang's position by promoting members of the president's "
Shanghai clique" to leading central and regional posts. He also helped advanced Jiang's guiding political philsophy the
Three Represents.
Over the next decade, he acquired a fearsome reputation as Jiang's hatchet against rivals. In 1992 he helped bring down the powerful, elder PLA Generals
Yang Shangkun and
Yang Baibing, who threatened Jiang's support within the military. Then, he used an anti-corruption campaign to orchestrate the downfall of Beijing party secretary and Jiang foe
Chen Xitong.
On July 20, 1999, The
Jiang Zemin regime started cracking down
Falun Gong. On July 23, 1999, a person in charge of the CCP
Organization Department (the head of the Department Zeng Qinghong or his representative) made a statement to a
People's Daily reporter and requested that the entire CCP should participate in the movement of persecuting
Falun Gong. In January 2001, Zeng Qinghong spoke in the center group meeting of the CCP Organization Department and emphasized that Communist Party branches and departments at all levels should participate in the long-term combat with "Falun Gong". On April 20, 2001, Zeng Qinghong spoke in the 4th Chinese Countryside "
Three Represents" Important Thought Study and Education Conference and requested suppressing Falun Gong and reeducating Falun Gong practitioners. Zeng Qinghong's speech was documented as the CCP Organization Department's "Document No. 11 [2001] Distributed by the CCP Organization Department" and was sent to everywhere in the country for studying.
After the 16th
Party Congress in
2002, he has been a member of the 16th CPC
Central Committee, a member of its Political Bureau and of the
Politburo Standing Committee and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee.
On
6 June 2003, Zeng issued an order "not to play or sing '
The Internationale' in any provincial, city or county level party or party member meetings."
Athough Jiang stepped down from the powerful
Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China to make way for a younger "
fourth generation" of leadership led by
Hu Jintao, Jiang will probably continue to wield significant influence with the help of Zeng. Due in large measure to Zeng's efforts, six out of the nine new members of the Standing Committee, including Zeng as well as
Wu Bangguo,
Jia Qinglin,
Huang Ju,
Wu Guanzheng, and
Li Changchun are linked to Jiang's "Shanghai Clique" and considered his protégés. The 22-member Politburo is elected by the Party's central committee. Real power in Communist China lies with this committee, which works as a kind of inner cabinet and groups together the country's most influential leaders. At the 2002 16th Party Congress, the Standing Committee was expanded to include nine members.
As Jiang Zemin reached the end of his term, many observers speculated that Jiang preferred Zeng Qinghong over
Hu Jintao as his successor. But Hu prevailed in succeeding Jiang. During the
SARS outbreak when
Hu Jintao and
Wen Jiabao took very strong and assertive action while Zeng and other Jiang loyalists receded to the background. Zeng was also expected to succeed Hu as Vice Chairman of the
Central Military Commission as a condition of Jiang's resignation from the chairmanship in favor of Hu. However, when Jiang stepped down on September 19, 2004,
Xu Caihou and not Zeng replaced Hu.
Although known as a Jiang loyalist, most observers speculate that Zeng is more liberal than his mentor, and interested in political reform (transparency, institutionalization, and greater specification of powers) to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of party and state operations. Zeng remains an important figure within the highest ranks of party leadership. After the death of
Zhao Ziyang, the former party secretary who lost power following the Tiananmen Square protests, Zeng Qinghong worked as the intermediary between the Zhao's family and the senior party leadership. Zeng Qinghong has the head of the
Ministry of State Security, known as China's top intelligence gathering bureau, report directly to him; his father was the former director of this agency.
*
Politics of China*
History of the PRC (1976-present)*
Zeng Qinghong and his CCP organization - World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong
*
Zeng Qinghong biography @ China Vitae, online database of China VIPs*
Zeng Qinghong - People's Daily biography
*
Zeng Qinghong: A Man to Watch -
Jamestown Foundation*
Zeng Qinghong: A Potential Challenger to China's Heir Apparent - Jamestown Foundation
*
Zeng Qinghong: An Heir To Power - MSNBC
