VZCZCXRO3573
OO RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #0753/01 0311246
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 311246Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4362
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 000753 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR S/WE (SASHA MEHRA, GERDA LANE) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KWMN CH
SUBJECT: CHINA'S MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 
 
REF: A. STATE 202341 
 
     ¶B. STATE 178055 
 
¶1.  Post is pleased to provide the names and thumbnail 
backgrounds of five women we consider the most influential in 
China (Ref A).  Although women in China enjoy equal rights 
under law, in reality they often face considerable obstacles 
to advancement.  The women we mention below have overcome 
these hurdles and are making significant contributions to 
women's empowerment and to China's social, political and 
economic development overall. 
 
¶2.  Our five most influential women for China are: 
 
¶A.  Wu Yi, Vice Premier in charge of economic affairs.  Wu is 
credited with steering China on the right public health path 
during the SARS crisis in 2003 and is now the head of China's 
delegation to the Strategic Economic Dialogue.  She can be 
contacted via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Office of North 
America and Oceania Affairs, tel. (8610) 6596-2610. 
 
¶B.  Chen Zhili, State Councilor in charge of education, 
culture and sports.  Chen was one of the first Mainland 
students to study in the United States in the Communist era. 
Preparations for the 2008 Summer Olympics fall under her 
purview.  She can be contacted via the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs Office of North America and Oceania Affairs, tel. 
(8610) 6596-2610. 
 
¶C.  Liu Yandong, President of the United Front Work 
Department.  Liu is an up-and-coming official with 
connections to President Hu Jintao.  She presides over the 
government agency that is in charge of minority and regional 
relations within China and she likely has a bright future. 
She can be reached via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Office 
of North America and Oceania Affairs, tel. (8610) 6596-2610. 
 
¶D.  Hong Huang, head of the China Interactive Media Group. 
Hong's mother was Mao Zedong's English teacher.  She has 
become a style trendsetter as a dynamic Chinese media mogul. 
Her publishing empire includes the Chinese version of TimeOut 
Beijing, Seventeen and I-Look magazines.  She also has a 
popular blog on the Chinese web portal Sina.com.  She can be 
reached at (86) 139-0137-9546. 
 
¶E.  Zhang Yin, China's richest woman and the head of the Nine 
Dragons Paper Company.  Zhang has been featured in a bevy of 
recent foreign media stories, including in The Wall Street 
Journal and The New York Times.  She made billions by 
building a waste paper reprocessing business in China that 
currently has two plants and boasts more than 7,000 
employees.  She can be reached at tel. (0769) 8823-4888, ext. 
¶3025. 
 
Alternate:  Song Xiuyan, Governor of Qinghai Province.  Song 
is the sole woman governor of a Chinese province.  She leads 
public policy decision making in a vast province with limited 
resources and considerable poverty.  She can be reached 
through the Qinghai Province Foreign Affairs Office, tel. 
(0971) 823-9606. 
 
Alternate:  Guo Jianmei, Director of the Beijing University 
Women's Legal Aid Center.  Under Guo's leadership, the Center 
has helped draft legislation, which the National People's 
Congress has passed, banning sexual harassment in China.  Guo 
and her team test this and other laws by taking on individual 
cases with a view to codifying women's rights in law and 
increasing awareness of discrimination issues.  She can be 
reached at tel. (8610) 8483-3276. 
 
Alternate:  Xie Lihua, Secretary-General, Cultural 
Development Center for Rural Women.  Official statistics show 
that as up to 450 million women in China are rural residents, 
many of whom live in the country's poorest areas.  Through 
her organization, Xie builds partnerships between the private 
and public sectors aimed at improving the lives of women 
beyond China's boomtowns.  She can be reached at tel. (8610) 
6619-4191, or e-mail Lihua xie@263.net. 
 
Alternate:  Hu Shuli, editor in chief of the influential 
biweekly Caijing Magazine, which aspires to be China's 
version of The Economist.  Hu encourages her reporters to 
constantly push the editorial envelope.  As a result, Caijing 
regularly runs groundbreaking exposes that reveal corruption 
and other misconduct in Chinese officialdom and among the 
business elite.  She can be reached at (8610) 6588-5047. 
 
¶3.  Political officer Chris Klein handles the women's issues 
portfolio at Embassy Beijing.  Contact info: (8610) 
6532-3831, ext. 6742, or e-mail kleincc@state.gov. 
 
BEIJING 00000753  002 OF 002 
 
 
RANDT