[The Epoch Times, October 29, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Lin Yan reported) Xinhua News Agency, the official media agency of the Communist Party of China, announced on Friday (October 28) that Beijing Mayor Chen Jining had been promoted to Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee. And Li Ganjie, secretary of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee, is likely to be the head of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee. Both are 58 years old and have a background in Tsinghua University.
As the two most valuable positions of Politburo members, the seniority of the promoted is relatively shallow, and they are less than 60 years old. At the same time, they are all Tsinghua alumni. This strange phenomenon has caused controversy on overseas social media Twitter. “Tsinghua Gang” attention.
Yang Zhang, an assistant professor at the American University School of International Service in Washington, wrote that in the history of the CCP, since 1987, eight Tsinghua alumni have been members of the Politburo. Among them, Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping are members of the Politburo. General Secretary.
“Will the Tsinghua gang continue to dominate Chinese (CCP) politics in the coming decades?” Zhang Yang asked.
In PRC history, eight Tsinghua alunmi are PSC members since 1987. Among them, Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping are General Secretaries. Why did this university make so many top political elites? Will the Tsinghua Clique continue dominating Chinese politics in the next decades? 3/
— Yang Zhang (@ProfYangZhang) October 28, 2022
Of the 13 new members of the Politburo, six have scientific and technical backgrounds. Take Chen Jining as an example, he is engaged in environmental science research, studied at Tsinghua University, holds a Ph.D. from Imperial College London and stayed on as a research assistant.
He returned to Beijing in 1998 and served as the Deputy Director of the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering at Tsinghua University. He became vice president of Tsinghua University in 2006 and then president in 2012.
Chen Jining entered politics in 2015 as director of the Environmental Protection Agency. He was one of the youngest ministers in the cabinet at the time. He became Beijing’s deputy party secretary in 2017 and then Beijing’s mayor the following year.
In 2022, he took over as secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee. The South China Morning Post said it was one of the highest positions in the Communist Party’s economic bureaucracy and was considered part of Xi Jinping’s strategy of placing technocrats in key positions.
It will also be an important link in Chen Jining’s personal political career, as the position of Shanghai party secretary usually paves the way for further promotion to the Politburo Standing Committee, the report said. Xi Jinping himself also joined the Standing Committee of the Politburo from the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee Secretary.
Tsinghua-backed officials are promoted, Xi likes technical talents with high loyalty
The South China Morning Post said some Shanghai officials expressed surprise at Chen Jining’s latest appointment because he has no background in Shanghai – where he has spent most of his academic and political career in Beijing.
But Xie Maosong, a senior researcher at the National Institute for Strategic Studies at Tsinghua University and a senior researcher at the Taihe Think Tank, said Chen Jining met Xi Jinping’s promotion criteria and was a loyalist with an engineering background.
He said Mr. Xi followed a Mao-era slogan in deciding who to promote, “you do what you do”, meaning promoting those who have both the political loyalty and the necessary skills to carry out the party’s agenda.
Xie Maosong said Chen Jining’s ability to achieve Xi Jinping’s policy goals will also be a key reason why he was selected for the top job in Shanghai.
Chen Jining is the executive chairman of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
In addition to Chen Jining, Li Ganjie, secretary of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee with a background in Tsinghua, may also serve as the head of the Central Organization Department.
Zhang Yang of American University believes that the promotion of Chen Jining and Li Ganjie both has something to do with Xi Jinping, and also has something to do with Chen Xi, the old secretary of Tsinghua University.
Chen Xi, who is expected to step down as the head of the Organization Department, served as secretary of the Party Committee of Tsinghua University from 2002 to 2008, during which time he had work-related interactions with Chen Jining. And Chen Xi himself, a college classmate of Xi Jinping, has been in charge of key personnel changes over the past five years.
During the years when Chen Xi was in charge of the organization department from 2013 to 2022, many officials graduated from Tsinghua University were promoted to key positions. For example, Hu Heping and Chen Jining became the secretary of the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee and the mayor of Beijing respectively in 2017, while Li Ganjie only served as the governor of Shandong for one year, and will become the secretary of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee in 2021.
Insider: Tsinghua Gang does not exist
Desmond Shum, the author of the memoir “Red Roulette”, a wealthy man, stated on Twitter that he knew Chen Xi and Chen Jining and their promotion history, but he had nothing to do with the hotly debated “Tsinghua Gang” .
Shen Dong said: “Chen Xi is a college classmate of Xi Jinping. Five or six years ago, Xi Jinping arranged for Chen Xi’s official position transfer. Chen Xi was transferred from Tsinghua University to make up for his lack of provincial leaders. People’s resumes. This is done so that after Xi Jinping takes power, Chen Xi has enough qualifications to take up larger positions in the central government.
“When Xi Jinping first came to power, he wanted to promote bureaucrats who had nothing to do with the power structure at the time. That’s why he brought in academics and CEOs of large state-owned enterprises. He wanted people who credit him for their personal success. It was in this situation that Chen Jining and Hu Heping came to power. Chen Xi played a role, but it wasn’t all his credit.”
Shen Dong revealed that Chen Jining’s promotion has nothing to do with Chen Xi.
“Actually, Chen Xi didn’t like him. I was clearly told that Chen Xi did not promote Chen Jining. The main person who promoted Chen Jining was probably Liu Yandong, the vice premier during Wen Jiabao’s time. Of course, Chen Jining got along well with Xi Jinping later. We both It is very clear that it is Xi Jinping’s China now,” Shen Dong said.
He said that many major officials came from Tsinghua University, because as China’s top university, its graduates are the smartest, and because of this, many ambitious officials went to Tsinghua to pursue graduate studies to increase their life experience.
“However, they have no common political interests or beliefs. It is misleading to classify all Tsinghua graduates as one political group.” Shen Dong said, “The Tsinghua gang is a general concept with no substance, and Tsinghua University has a successful year every year. Thousands of students graduate. Just because they’re from the same school doesn’t mean they’re politically aligned.”
Shen Dong was an honorary trustee of Tsinghua University and provided a large donation to Tsinghua University. His book “Red Roulette” reveals the wealth, power, corruption and revenge of the CCP’s red family.
doing. 4. Chen Jining’s rise doesn’t have anything to do w Chen Xi. As a matter of fact, Chen Xi doesn’t like him, and I was told explicitly Chen Xi didn’t promote Chen Jining. Chen Jining’s key sponsor is most likely to be Liu Yandong, vice premier under Wen Jiabao. Of 5/
— Desmond Shum (@DesmondShum) October 28, 2022
Responsible editor: Lin Yan#