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