STARS QUIETLY ON THE RISE IN JILIN AND HEILONGJIANG

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SHENYANG 000075

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/23/2019
TAGS: CH ECON PGOV PINR
SUBJECT: STARS QUIETLY ON THE RISE IN JILIN AND HEILONGJIANG

REF: A. BEIJING 614

B. 08 SHENYANG 44

C. 08 SHENYANG 45

Classified By: Consul General Stephen B. Wickman. Reasons 1.4(b/d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: The unique arrangement of Jilin Province's
Governor Han Changfu and Party Secretary (PS) Wang Min's
reversed roles continues to garner success for the poorest
of China's Northeast provinces. Farther north,
Heilongjiang's
Ji Bingxuan is now firmly ensconced in his role as PS and
actively advocating for a fair share in the economic stimulus
package. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) This is the second in a two-part series on leadership
dynamics in northeast China over the past year, with a
particular emphasis on rising stars likely bound for higher,
possibly national, office. Part one focuses on Liaoning,
part two on Jilin and Heilongjiang Provinces.

JILIN GOVERNOR AND PS DELIVER THE GOODS, QUIETLY
-------------- ---

3. (C) Jilin Governor Han Changfu enjoyed a stable and
productive 2008. As noted in our previous round-up, Jilin's
leadership dynamic is unique in the Northeast (Ref A.) PS
Wang Min functions more like a governor, focusing on
economic development and attracting investment in the
province, while Governor Han Changfu acts like a party
secretary, concentrating on political issues, such as
improving
livelihoods and loyalty to the Communist Party. In 2008,
Han burnished his credentials by scoring a RMB 26 billion
project over the 2008-12 period to boost grain production.
Han, as former Deputy Minister of Agriculture, undoubtedly
used his old contacts to secure the funding (Ref A.)


4. (C) PS Wang Min, widely known for developing the "Suzhou
Model" of development, spent the year heading delegations to
the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta, Hong Kong,
and Southeast Asia proudly importing billions of dollars
of investment into Jilin. Wang further enhanced Jilin's
cooperation with Hong Kong and Taiwan by meeting with Donald
Tseng and Chen Yunlin - although back home he reportedly
defers to Han to meet "foreign" dignitaries. Wang's
business promoting activities are different than Liaoning
Governor Chen Zhenggao. While Chen brags about his
visionary FDI imports, many of which are really the work of
others, Wang and Han are quieter in delivering tangible FDI
results. Feedback from local Jilin officials regarding Wang
and Han's performance are all positive. Wang, 59, has six
years to go before his retirement and is expected to be
promoted soon, though rumors that he would move to the
Central Government as the Minister of Commerce in early 2008
failed to materialize.

THE ORGANIZATIONAL DEPARTMENT: ANOTHER PATHWAY TO SUCCESS?
-------------- --------------

5. (C) Wang Songhe was chosen to be Jilin's Director of
Organizational Department in 2004. Wang worked at the
national level as Communist Youth League (CYL) Deputy
Director and Director of the Central Financial Committee's
Organizational Committee between 1988 and 1998. No stranger
to the field of organizational work, Wang and Long Xinnan
(Director of the Heilongjiang Organizational Department)
differ in style from the usual organizational chiefs who
normally shy away from the press. Wang's slogan in Jilin is
"improving transparency of cadre selection and promotion."
Even though it is commonly believed that Wang replaces Lu
Peijun, former Chief of the Political Department of General
Administration of Customs, Wang is listed ahead of Lu on the
General Administration's leadership chart, thereby outranking
Lu, a senior veteran customs professional. Considering his
CYL background, Wang's promotion to the Deputy Director and
Chief of the Political Department of General Administration
of
Customs might be a step on his way to CPC's leading core.

HEILONGJIANG PS: MASTER OF PROPAGANDA
--------------

6. (C) As the Party tycoon of Heilongjiang Province, Ji
Bingxuan has fully lived up to his reputation as a master of
propaganda. Since his arrival in April 2008, Ji has
peppered his stump speeches and remarks with even more
central party political sloganeering than usual, even when
talking about exclusively economic development issues.
Calls for loyalty to the party and studying the latest
"spirits" of the central leadership are the usual emphases
of his speeches and hearken back to Ji's central propaganda
department days. Peking University Professor Jiao Guobiao,
for example, strongly condemned the Central Propaganda

SHENYANG 00000075 002 OF 002


Department during Ji's tenure as Director. When Ji was
Executive Deputy Director, he was infamous for the "25 bans"
put in place at the end of 2003. At that time, Ji banned
any reporting of the detention of the Director of Yunnan
Propaganda Department because it might damage the
Department's "image." Ji nevertheless won the favor of the
central leadership for his unshakeable loyalty to the party
and, for his pains, was handpicked to lead Heilongjiang.

HEILONGJIANG GOVERNOR FOLLOWS AN ARDUOUS PATH
--------------

7. (C) Li Zhanshu's political career has been difficult.
In the 1990s, Li was persecuted by Li Zhen, the now-demised
secretary of then-Hebei Province PS Chen Weigao (himself
disciplined in 2003.) As a result, Li is at least eight
years behind by his fellow CYL contemporaries on the
promotion track. In late 2003, Li was sent to Heilongjiang
as Deputy Party Secretary and candidate for the top slot.
Following a major local corruption scandal, however, the
central party committee deployed Qian Yunlu to clean up the
mess instead. Following Qian's departure and Ji Bingxuan's
arrival, Li received the governorship as a consolation prize
(Li joked with us when we met him for the first time in 2007
that he holds the record as the longest-serving vice
governor in the country, having had that post three times in
three different provinces.)


8. (C) Li's reputation in Heilongjiang is solid. He told
local officials "my motto is hard work and no persecution"
and that he and Qian delivered the goods. Nearing the end
of his career, Li has to work one more step up before his
retirement. In early January, there were rumors in the Hong
Kong press that Li would be moved to Shanxi Province as
Party Secretary for his outstanding performance in
controlling coal mine disasters in Heilongjiang.

OTHER HEILONGJIANG NOTABLES: YANG HUANNING AND SUN YONGBO
-------------- --------------

9. (C) Yang Huanning, Heilongjiang's former head of Public
Security and now back at central headquarters, is certain to
take a high central government position and by some accounts
already has (there was no official press coverage of his
resignation from Heilongjiang.) A veteran anti-terrorist
expert, he was called back to the Ministry of Public
Security to prepare for Beijing's Olympic Games. Yang was
the Executive Deputy Minister of the Ministry when he
escorted
Minister Zhou Yongkang during Zhou's trip to Sichuan in
June 2008. The Ministry of Public Security's official
website
says he has been the Executive Deputy Minister since May 2008.


10. (C) Sun Yongbo, former Assistant to Minister of Public
Security, was sent to Heilongjiang as Yang Huanning's
replacement. Yang contributed greatly to Heilongjiang's
social stability as Heilongjiang's Secretary of the
Political and Judiciary Commission 2005-2008. Sun has CYL
background as the Ministry of Public Security's CYL Deputy
Secretary. Sun, appointed the Deputy Governor and Director
of Public Security Bureau since July 2008, helped the
province improve its social stability, particularly during
the recent Winter Universiade. After Sun's arrival, the
province carried out a series of anti-crime campaigns
leading up to, during, and after the Olympics. The most
noticeable was a joint campaign among all three provinces in
Northeast China and Inner Mongolia to capture fugitives.
According to the Heilongjiang Daily, the number of serious
criminal cases in 2008 decreased 13.5 percent from 2007. It
is likely that Sun's future lies outside Heilongjiang. His
move to the province signals the central government's desire
to improve Heilongjiang's social stability, and for Sun,
this is an opportunity to prove his worth.
WICKMAN