WEN JIABAO'S DOMESTIC TRAVEL HABITS

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIJING 016342 E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/12/2013 TAGS: PGOV CH SUBJECT: WEN JIABAO'S DOMESTIC TRAVEL HABITS Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Jon Aloisi. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Ministry of Civil Affairs (MOCA) Director General Wang Zhenyao (strictly protect) has helped arrange three of Premier Wen Jiabao's domestic trips since last year and reports that Wen's intellectual curiosity and impatience with bureaucratic practices can cause "headaches" for his staff and handlers when the Premier travels. Wang said Wen has modest personal needs, but constantly queries subordinates about his itinerary and often deviates from his schedule because he is consumed with getting an "unfiltered" view of local areas. End Summary. Just the Facts -------------- ¶2. (C) MOCA Department of Disaster and Socal Relief Director General Wang Zhenyao told oloff November 6 that, from his experience heping to arrange three of Premier Wen Jiabao's recent trips to disaster areas, he has concluded that Wen's natural intellectual curiosity and impatience with standard bureaucratic practices make him a formidable traveler for whom to make arrangements. Wang said Wen dislikes choreographed schedules and frequently deviates from the itinerary set by his aides. Citing an example, Wang recalled that earlier this year in Shaanxi, Wen frequently ordered his driver to stop suddenly so that he could talk to villagers about their lives. "Wen does not chitchat in these conversations, but asks very specific questions about living standards," Wang said. For example, Wen asked villagers about the amount of grain they harvested per unit of farmland, the cost of transporting their yield to market and the price they got per unit sold. Wen does not want to hear only from the local Party leaders, who tend to gloss over blemishes, but from the peasants themselves, Wang offered. Itinerary Changes -------------- ¶3. (C) Such impulsiveness can be a "headache" for schedulers because Wen is constantly questioning his itinerary. "If you arrange for him to visit one village, he asks why he wasn't scheduled to visit another nearby village," Wang said. According to Wang, Wen fears that he will hear "prettified and filtered views" on his trips, so he insists on injecting spontaneity into his travels. "Let's Make a Deal" -------------- ¶4. (C) To illustrate Wen's distaste for the common practice among Chinese officials of woodenly reading their work reports, Wang recounted an incident from Wen's travel to several central provinces last winter, while he was still a Vice Premier. During this trip, which Wang also arranged, Wen listened to a local mayor drone on and on about his city's successful handling of emergencies. According to Wang, Wen became so frustrated with the mayor's monotone presentation that the following exchange took place: "Mr. Mayor, can you deliver your report without referring to your text," Wen asked. "Mr. Vice Premier, I refer to my manuscript because it contains a lot of statistics," the mayor replied. "Mr. Mayor, you have been an official in this city for several years now. Surely you must have a command of the statistics that reflect how life is for the city's residents," Wen chastised. "I'll make you a deal," Wen continued. "If you put away your text, then I'll put away mine when it is my turn to speak." Embarrassed, the mayor pushed his manuscript to the side, but continued to take frequent peeks when the Vice Premier was not looking, Wang wryly noted. "That poor mayor," Wang remarked. "It was the middle of winter yet he was perspiring through his shirt." Wang stressed that Wen was very polite throughout the encounter and did not lose his cool. Simple Personal Needs -------------- ¶5. (C) On the trips that Wang arranged for Wen, Wen's personal requirements were very simple. He preferred to eat modestly and alone in his hotel room rather than take part in fancy banquets, which provincial officials would have gladly hosted, Wang recalled. The Minister of Civil Affairs, Li Xueju, whom Wang noted is close to Hu Jintao, accompanies Wen frequently on domestic trips and has relayed similar anecdotes about the Premier indicating that he is a focused and unpretentious traveler. Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) Wang's view that the Premier is a detail- oriented taskmaster who has simple tastes tracks closely with the assessments of others in Beijing who have worked with the Premier. RANDT