Zhang Chunxian | |
|---|---|
| 张春贤 | |
| Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress | |
| In office 17 March 2018 – 10 March 2023 | |
| Chairman | Li Zhanshu |
| Party Secretary of Xinjiang | |
| In office 24 April 2010 – 29 August 2016 | |
| Deputy | Nur Bekri (2010–14) Shohrat Zakir (2014–16) |
| General Secretary | Hu Jintao Xi Jinping |
| Preceded by | Wang Lequan |
| Succeeded by | Chen Quanguo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 1953 (age 72) Yuzhou, Henan, China |
| Political party | Chinese Communist Party (since 1973) |
| Education | Northeast Heavy Machinery College Harbin Institute of Technology |
| Zhang Chunxian | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 张春贤 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 張春賢 | ||||||
| |||||||
Zhang Chunxian (Chinese:张春贤;pinyin:Zhāng Chūnxián; born 12 May 1953) is a Chinese politician best known for his term as theParty Secretary of Xinjiang from 2010 to 2016. From 2005 to 2010 he was the Party Secretary ofHunan Province.[1][2]
Born into an ordinary family inYuzhou,Henan province, Zhang joined the military at the age of 17. After four years in the army, he went back to his hometown to work on a farm. He then went to school at the Northeastern Heavy Machinery Institute (nowYanshan University).
After graduating, he obtained a state-assigned job at the No. 3 Machinery Ministry, working as an aerospace engineering technician. At a research institute under the ministry, Zhang quickly made a name for himself and rose through the ranks, eventually becoming leader of the institute. In 1991, he was identified as a young talent by the party organization. He was transferred to Beijing to work for theMinistry of Supervision, then was transferred to the China National Food and Packaging Machinery Corporation to serve as chief executive.
In August 1995, Zhang was sent toYunnan province to become assistant to the governor, then vice-governor, overseeing science and technology. Two years later, Zhang headed back to Beijing to serve as deputy minister, and later minister, oftransport from 1998 to 2005.
In 2005, Zhang became theChinese Communist Party Committee Secretary of Hunan province. In 2006, Zhang simultaneously took on the role of chairman of the Hunan Provincial People's Congress.
He has been a member of the16th,17th and18thCentral Committees. He was elected to the18th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party in 2012.
Zhang replacedWang Lequan as secretary of the Communist Party Committee of theXinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in April 2010[3] and was replaced byZhou Qiang in his role as secretary of the Communist Party and chairman of the provincial People's Congress.[4] Zhang was credited with bringingbus rapid transit (BRT) toUrumqi's major thoroughfares, the construction of the Xinjiang International Convention Centre, and the resumption of internet connections in the region following a one-year long ban in the aftermath of theJuly 2009 Ürümqi riots.[5]
After Zhang departed Xinjiang, he was named the deputy leader of the Leading Group for Party Building, a group headed byLiu Yunshan. Political analysts noted that his involvement in party cohesion and organization was a promotion, possibly even an indication that he would be groomed to take on a more substantial party affairs role following the 19th Party Congress. His first public appearance as part of the Party Building group was a visit to the Communist revolutionary heartland ofYan'an. However, other observers have interpreted the move more pessimistically, noting that it in fact mirrors Wang Lequan's own departure from Xinjiang six years earlier when he was given a seemingly token role as a deputy to then security-tsar Zhou Yongkang.[6] Zhang was considered a candidate for ascension to thePolitburo Standing Committee at the Congress in 2017, but ultimately did not make the cut. He relinquished his Politburo membership in 2017 but maintained his Central Committee membership.[7]
On March 17, 2018, Zhang was elected as avice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.[8]
On 7 December 2020, pursuant toExecutive Order 13936, theUS Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on all 14 Vice Chairpersons of the NPC, including Zhang, for "undermining Hong Kong's autonomy and restricting the freedom of expression or assembly."[9]
Zhang is known for his use of a popularmicroblog service supported byTencent, which spiked in usage during the2011 National People's Congress. He was the highest-ranking Chinese official of his generation to maintain a microblog.[10]
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of Transport 2002–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Secretary of the Hunan CPC Committee 2005–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Chairman of Hunan People's Congress Standing Committee 2006–2010 | ||
| Preceded by | Party Secretary of Xinjiang 2010–2016 | Succeeded by |