In the lead-up to Beijing’s Two Sessions, the political and legal system underwent another round of purging, with amateur officials taking office in key positions. A China expert suggests that these moves are not only for the purpose of maintaining political stability but also to lay the groundwork for future purges of the provincial public security systems.
On Feb. 26, 56-year-old Liu Yong, vice governor of Shanxi Province, was removed from his post and disqualified as a deputy to the 14th People’s Congress of Shanxi province. Mr. Liu had worked in the state security system for 20 years and had only been vice-governor of Shanxi for just over a year.
On that same day, Huang Wensheng, Party chief of the Political and Legal Committee of Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, was placed under investigation for serious disciplinary violations. Tang Lin, a director of the Guizhou Provincial High Court, was investigated by local disciplinary authorities on suspicion of serious disciplinary infractions.
On Feb. 27, Chen Zhuangyong, Party chief of the Political and Legal Committee of Shanwei City, Guangdong Province, was placed under investigation. Mr. Chen took office in December 2021.
Around the same time, two individuals with no political or legal background were appointed to roles in politics and law.
On Feb. 26, Huo Bugang, who had worked for many years in the Ministry of Finance, was appointed Party chief of the Liaoning Provincial Political and Legal Committee, while his predecessor, Yu Tianmin, was transferred to the position of vice chairman of the Liaoning Provincial Committee of the Political Consultative Conference, a political advisory body.
Mr. Huo, 53, worked for 22 years in the Ministry of Finance. In April 2021, he left the ministry to become Party chief of the Liaoyang Municipal Party Committee in Liaoning Province. In January 2023, Mr. Huo was appointed vice-governor of Liaoning Province, and one year later, he was appointed to this new role as a politics and law official.
In Chongqing, Zhang Anjiang, who does not possess a public security background, was appointed Vice Mayor of Chongqing, Party Secretary, Director, and Inspector General of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, and Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee of Political and Legal Affairs (concurrently). Hu Minglang, previously party chief and director of the Chongqing Public Security Bureau, has been reassigned as deputy minister of the Ministry of Emergency Management.
According to China expert and current affairs commentator Li Yanming, the personnel reshuffle in the provincial public security system on the eve of the CCP’s Two Sessions is characterized by three main features.
First, most of the new officials were transferred from other places. Second, many officials with no background in the political and legal systems took over the provincial public security departments. Third, many of the new officials have obvious backgrounds in Xi’s camp.
“On the eve of the Chinese Communist Party’s Two sessions, Xi Jinping’s camp took over the provincial politics and law system, not only for the purpose of maintaining political stability, but also to lay the groundwork for a major purge to come of the provincial public security system,” he predicted.
