China names new party chiefs in Hunan and Yunnan days before fifth plenum
Beijing reshuffled officials in six provinces on Saturday, two days before a closed-door Communist Party plenum opens in the capital.
Beijing has installed new Communist Party secretaries in Hunan and Yunnan as part of a round of appointments covering six provinces, The Straits Times reported, carrying a Reuters story. The party made the changes public on Saturday. That was two days ahead of its fifth plenum, which meets behind closed doors in Beijing from October 26 to 29.
Wang Zhijun, until now a State Council Vice Secretary-General, takes charge of the party in southern Hunan in place of Shen Xiaoming. Wang holds full membership of the Central Committee. Of the bodies at the top of the party that make its major decisions, that committee has the most members.
In Yunnan, in the south-west, Mo Gaoyi succeeds Wang Ning as party chief. Mo previously ran the State Council Information Office and was a vice minister in the party's publicity department.
Other appointments point to who will run provincial governments. According to Reuters, being made head of a provincial government's party group indicates that an official is about to become governor. In Hunan that post goes to Xie Weijiang, who is the province's deputy party secretary as well as party chief of Yueyang, a city in its north-east. He is expected to follow Governor Mao Weiming.
Fujian's next governor looks likely to be Guo Ningning, who has been both a provincial deputy party secretary and party chief in the capital, Fuzhou. Qin Haixiang now takes over her Fuzhou job, and Lin Tao has been appointed a deputy party secretary in Fujian.
Jiangxi, in the south, is expected to get Chen Yongqi as governor. He has been deputy party secretary there and has led its political and legal affairs commission. The previous governor, Ye Jianchun, came under investigation in August. Two more officials were each given a deputy party secretary title along with leadership of their government party group, putting them in line for the top job. Zhuge Yujie, who had been a deputy party secretary in central Hubei, now holds those posts in Qinghai in the north-west. Zhao Chenxin holds them in northern Hebei, where he is due to replace Governor Wang Zhengpu.
None of the governors takes office until a provincial legislature formally votes them in. Reuters said that vote is usually a formality once the party has settled on its choice.
The South China Morning Post said the party's five-year leadership cycle has now reached the provinces, where new teams are taking office, and that the provincial process gives hints about where the party is heading nationally. Anhui, Henan, Shanxi and Xinjiang completed their party congresses last week, the paper reported, and each chose a standing committee that will serve for five years.
Reuters expects the plenum's official agenda to centre on party governance and discipline, although it said appointments may also come up. The meeting begins in Beijing on October 26.
Sources: The Straits Times, China's Communist Party names new provincial chiefs ahead of fifth plenum; South China Morning Post, How China’s regional leadership changes offer clues to the future of the Communist Party.
