Regional Personnel Changes in China

Another piece of speculative trivial from the Chinese media in the U.S.

This one speculated that alongside the impending personnel changes at the 17th Party Congress in Beijing in October, significant personnel changes had already taken place at the regional level. These include the appointment of leaders who were students at the time of the 1989 Tiananmen Incident.

Some names thrown up include:

Fang Jun (方军) - 41 years old, former secretary of National People's Congress chairman Li Tieying (李铁映, pictured), recently appointed vice-mayor of Hefei (合肥), provincial capital of Anhui province (安徽省). At the time of the 1989 Tiananmen Incident, he was a 23-year old graduate student at Beijing Normal University's Philosophy Department.

Zhang Xiaolin (张晓麟) - 46 years old, also recently appointed as vice-mayor of Hefei.

Yang Zengquan (杨增权) - 44 years old, ditto.

Sun Jinlong (孙金龙) - 45 years old, recently appointed Hefei party secretary.

Wu Cunrong (吴存荣) - 44 years old, recently appointed Hefei mayor.

The article dated September 4 noted that during the 17th Party Congress, some younger cadres will be appointed as alternative members of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee.

Despite the largely intransparency of the Chinese political system, the infusion of younger talent and new blood seems to be on ongoing process. Clearly, the process of institutionalization is here to stay. And that is surely a gratifying development for many China watchers.