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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 000433 
 
SIPDIS 
STATE FOR EAP/CM, INR/EAP, INR/B 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR CH
SUBJ: The Leadership Landscape in Fujian 
 
GUANGZHOU 00000433  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. Summary: Fujian province has witnessed major leadership changes, 
including one serious demotion and several promotions, since 
mid-2008.  As a result of new additions to Fujian's provincial 
leadership, portfolios have been shuffled across the board. 
Although most new leaders have come in at the Vice Governor level, 
it is hard to predict who will succeed current Governor Huang 
Xiaojing when his term expires in 2012 because Beijing has 
traditionally filled that position with officials from outside 
Fujian.  End Summary. 
------------------------ 
Major Leadership Changes 
------------------------ 
¶2. Major leadership changes, including one serious demotion and 
several promotions, have taken place in Fujian province since 
mid-2008.  Chen Shaoyang, former Fujian Communist Party of China 
(CPC) Standing Committee Member and the Committee's Secretary 
General, was sacked for corruption and "immorality" in July 2008. 
He lost his position as CPC Secretary General in June 2008, was 
expelled from the party in January 2009, and is currently under 
investigation. 
¶3. Yu Guangzhou, former Executive Vice Minister of the Ministry of 
Commerce in Beijing, became Deputy Party Secretary of Fujian in 
November 2008.  Yang Yue, who also served in Beijing as Executive 
Sec retary of the Central China Youth League's (CYL) Secretariat, 
became a Standing Committee Member of the Fujian CPC in December 
¶2008.  He is responsible for politics and law enforcement in his new 
position.  Born in 1968, Yang holds a doctorate and has a background 
similar to that of General Secretary Hu Jintao.  At the age of 29, 
he also served as the CYL Party Secretary of Tsinghua University and 
later joined the Central CPC. 
---------------------- 
The New Vice Governors 
---------------------- 
¶4. There are several other new additions to Fujian's provincial 
leadership.  Chen Hua, current Vice Governor of Fujian, replaced 
Wang Meixiang, who is now serving as a vice chair in the Fujian 
People's Congress.  Chen's portfolio includes education, culture, 
health, sports, radio and TV, family planning, senior citizens, 
civic development, and Taiwan affairs. 
¶5. Zhang Zhinan, also a new Vice Governor in Fujian, previously 
served as Deputy Secretary General of the Fujian Government, 
Director General of the Fujian Development and Reform Commission, 
and Deputy Party Secretary of the CYL.  Representing western 
Fujian's Hakka power base, his portfolio includes reform and 
development issues, civil affairs, transportation, statistics, 
pricing, ocean border control, finance, police, national security 
and justice.  Zhang, only 48 years old, is the youngest of all vice 
governors. 
¶6. Hong Jiexu, selected as Vice Governor in January 2008, is from 
the non-CPC political party of Jiu San Society, which mainly 
consists of academic representatives.  His portfolio includes 
foreign affairs, tourism, overseas Chinese affairs, Hong Kong and 
Macao affairs, and ethnic and religious affairs. 
--------------------- 
Leadership Portfolios 
--------------------- 
¶7. The arrival of new leaders in Fujian caused the shuffling of 
several portfolios, including those at the very top.  Huang 
Xiaojing, the current Governor of Fujian, is now responsible for 
development and reform, finance, state assets, auditing, supervision 
(disciplinary inspections), and government rightsizing, in addition 
to the overall work of the Fujian government. 
¶8. Zhang Changping, Fujian's Executive Vice Governor, manages human 
resources, rural development, and agriculture.  He also assists 
Governor Huang in the areas of finance, government rightsizing, and 
supervision.  Zhang is a Standing Committee Member of the Fujian 
CPC. 
¶9. Ye Shuangyu, Li Chuan, and Su Zengtian are other Vice Governors 
who oversee diverse economic and political issues.  Ye Shuangyu 
handles foreign and domestic trade, foreign investment, the 
Administration for Industry and Commerce, border administration, and 
anti-corruption.  Li Chuan looks after industry, labor and social 
security, science and technology, information technology, technical 
supervision, pharmaceutical supervision, and production safety.  Su 
Zengtian directs tasks related to construction, land resources, 
environmental protection, and air defense.  Both Li and Su also 
assist the governor with the management of state asset 
administration. 
------------------------- 
Next in Line for Governor 
------------------------- 
¶10. Comment: Already in his second and final term, current Governor 
of Fujian Huang Xiaojing will vacate his post in 2012.  The 
 
GUANGZHOU 00000433  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
governorship has traditionally been filled by a number of "airborne" 
officials -- outsiders with previous work experience in other parts 
of China -- such as current Fujian Party Secretary Lu Zhangong, who 
had only two years of work experience in Fujian before becoming the 
province's governor in 2003.  As a result, it is difficult to 
predict who will take the governor's reins in 2012. End comment. 
 
JACOBSEN