GUIZHOU: PORTRAIT OF A SELF-PROMOTING COMMUNIST YOUTH LEAGUE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENGDU 000296 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/CM E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PINR SOCI CH SUBJECT: GUIZHOU: PORTRAIT OF A SELF-PROMOTING COMMUNIST YOUTH LEAGUE SECRETARY -- COULD HE BE PROMOTED TO THE NATIONAL LEVEL? CHENGDU 00000296 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (U) This cable contains sensitive but unclassified information - not for distribution on the Internet. ¶2. (SBU) Summary: At 39 years old, Chen Cangxu has been the Secretary of the Guizhou Communist Youth League (GCYL) for the last two years. Over dinner, Chen told Consul General how he had leveraged the anti-poverty program of another man -- similar to Mao's 1960s elevation of the model soldier Lei Feng -- to win national acclaim for himself. With little more than a high school degree, Chen has risen quickly within the Guizhou Party apparatus, apparently because he is a "guanxi" (relationship) builder extraordinaire. Despite the impressive career advances of his predecessors as GCYL Secretary, we predict Chen's weak educational background will cause his career to plateau below the national level. A December 6 news report in Chongqing suggests that most top Chinese leaders are much better educated than Chen, although Chen's background in the Communist Youth League -- the power base of Chinese President Hu Jintao -- may prove us wrong. End Summary. Chen's Early Rise through the Ranks and the Spring Sun Action -------------- -------------- ¶3. (SBU) In a November meeting abruptly arranged hours before our arrival to Guiyang, GCYL Secretary Chen Cangxu regaled CG with his accomplishments and rapid rise within Guizhou politics. Chen was introduced by Hu Chuanyu, an assistant who spent much of the first 15 minutes doting over Chen's biography. Chen was born into a poor, rural family in Ziqiang village in Zhengan County, Guizhou. After graduating from high school, Chen returned to Ziqiang to do farm work. Chen joined the Communist Party shortly thereafter, and rose to Zhengan County magistrate in 2001. ¶4. (SBU) Speaking in a thick local accent, the short, square-shouldered Chen proudly boasted of his proletarian beginnings and his determination to serve his hometown of Ziqiang. There, as magistrate of Zhengan County, he discovered Zheng Chuanlou -- whom Chen propagandized into an iconic figure similar to Mao's 1960s selfless hero-soldier "Lei Feng." After graduating from college, Zheng returned to his hometown of Ziqiang in 1988 to improve quality of life in the poor village, Chen explained. Zheng organized the building of bridges, roads, piping systems, schools, and other infrastructure. He also instituted training programs to improve farmers' skills as migrant workers. ¶5. (SBU) Chen named Zheng's program the "Spring Sun Action" and promoted it throughout Guizhou. This successful program quickly caught the attention of Beijing policymakers, Chen claimed. After only one year as Zhengan County magistrate, Chen was made Vice-Secretary of the GCYL in 2002, based in large part on his success in promoting the Spring Sun Action. In 2007, Chen was again promoted to GCYL Secretary, his current position. Conclusions on Future of Chen Cangxu -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The ever fawning Hu was quick to remind us that the position of GCYL Secretary has historically been a launching pad for higher office. Wang Shanyun, Governor of Anhui, and Long Chaoyun, Vice-Chairman of Guizhou Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, were previously GCYL Secretaries. Even Party Secretary Hu Jintao had his beginnings in the China Youth League, he noted. After Chen departed, Hu added that, although Chen only possessed a high school degree, he had recently completed studies in Party Thought at Beijing's Central Party School. (Note: Recent Beijing initiatives have stressed that government leaders at all levels must possess at least an associate's degree. This has created pressure for public officials to complete any degree in any field without necessary enhancing their actual skill sets. End Note.) CHENGDU 00000296 002.2 OF 002 Comment: A Good Self-Promoter, But National Prominence Unlikely -------------- -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Our meeting ended abruptly about 45 minutes after it began. Chen received a phone call and abandoned his guests for another "important meeting" -- an unlikely event at eight o'clock on a Sunday night. Whatever the reality, our impression of Chen was one of an "operator," a man who built his career in part on the accomplishments of others. By elevating Zheng Chuanlou to a Lei Feng-like status, Chen has craftily created political opportunity and capitalized on his one abundant talent: marketing. ¶8. (SBU) In the modern Chinese Communist Party, we believe that most party officials like Chen will increasingly hit a glass ceiling and never reach the national spotlight. The current generation of Beijing's leadership is well-educated, often with technocratic and scientific backgrounds, and increasingly with degrees in the social sciences and law. Many observers believe China's next generation of national leaders will be even better educated, and possess some foreign policy experience -- two plusses that Chen lacks. An interesting development will be how Chen progresses at the Guizhou provincial level. In one of China's poorest provinces, and one of its most politically conservative, opportunistic leaders crafted in the revolutionary-era mold might yet find career avenues. Chongqing Newspaper Analyzes Careers of China's Top Leaders -------------- -------------- ¶9. (SBU) A recent news report in the mainland press provides further insights into the typical profiles of China's top party leaders. According to the December 6 "Chongqing Evening News," as re-reported in the December 7 "South China Morning Post," top provincial cadres usually work their way up the career ladder from low positions in state-owned enterprises, colleges, or the military. Ninety percent of the 31 current provincial party chiefs have completed undergraduate or higher studies, and more than half have experience in both central and local governments. The average age at which they became mayors or chiefs of big counties was 41, which was "at least 5-10 years earlier" than other officials of similar rank. More than half were governors at an average age of 53, and they became party chiefs at an average age of 57. Potential top party leaders at the national level often needed the experience of two or three top provincial posts; eight of nine members of the current Politburo Standing Committee worked as provincial bosses before their ascent to the top ranks, with Premier (and geologist) Wen Jiabao the only exception. ¶10. (SBU) However, officials who have a background in the Communist Youth League -- the power base of President Hu Jintao -- can be significantly younger. Hu Chunhua, previously first secretary of the youth league secretariat and reportedly one of Hu Jintao's closest allies, was named party boss in Inner Mongolia, the news report says. In that case, perhaps Chen's background in the Communist Youth League -- the power base of Chinese President Hu Jintao -- may help him prove us wrong. BROWN