Li Changchun
Encyclopedia
Li Changchun is the Propaganda
chief of the Communist Party of China
. He is the 5th ranked member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China
, China's de facto top power organ, and has been a member since 2002. He also serves as Chairman of the CPC Central Guidance Commission for Building Spiritual Civilization
, de facto Head of propaganda and media relations. Previously he had served in Liaoning
and Henan
.
in Liaoning. He joined the Communist Party of China
in 1965 and graduated with a degree in electrical engineering
from the Harbin Institute of Technology
in 1966. In 1983, at age 39, he became the youngest mayor and Party secretary of a major city, of Shenyang
, the capital of Liaoning
. In 1987, he became governor of the province, a post he kept until 1990. As governor, mainland China
's first expressway
was built in the province, linking the cities of Shenyang
and Dalian
. After Zhao Ziyang
was purged from the party leadership in 1989 during the fallout from the Tiananmen Square protests
that same year, Li was initially also thought to have been removed from the leadership of the Communist Party because Li was a supporter of Zhao. Li's appearance on state television weeks later confirmed that this was not the case. Li served briefly as the Party chief in the agricultural province of Henan
in the 1990s. Jiang Zemin
sent him to serve as Guangdong
Party Secretary, where he cracked down on corruption
to 'put the house in order'. Li, again the youngest ever member, was promoted to the Politburo of the Communist Party of China
in 1998, and made a member of its Standing Committee after General Secretary
Jiang Zemin
's retirement in 2002. In October 2007, the Communist Party of China announced that Li would serve another term as Propaganda Chief.
He contributes heavily to China's censorship campaign of propaganda and frequently orders media to downplay or not report on certain events. He currently holds no other official position. In 2006, he told the members of the All-China Journalists Association
to "closely encircle the overall work of the party and state". Li approved the construction of the National Museum
in 2006 after a series of disputes and delays about the building of the museum. He was the guest of honor at the opening of the National Center for the Performing Arts.
Li has put his support behind a number of creative projects that might otherwise have been censored by the government. He supported Zen Shaolin, a music, dance and martial arts show intended to increase tourism that opened in 2007 in Henan
, despite the producers concerns that a celebration of religion and sacred music would be opposed by the government. Li allowed a 2009 movie Nanking! Nanking! by Lu Chuan
to continue running in theaters in the face of strong pressure from nationalists who objected to the sympathetic characterization in the film of a Japanese soldier. The film was one of ten chosen to help commemorate 60 years of Communist rule
.
quoted a contact that claimed Li Changchun and fellow Politburo Standing Committee member Zhou Yongkang
oversaw Beijing's cyber attack against Google. However, such claim has been called into question, as according to The New York Times, the person who was cited in the cable describing Li's involvement in the campaign against Google’s Chinese operations denied knowing who had directed the hacking attack. He described a campaign coordinated by the Propaganda Department’s director, Liu Yunshan, and, in several occasions, Li and Zhou issued approvals. But he "had no direct knowledge linking them to the hacking attack aimed at securing commercial secrets or dissidents’ e-mail accounts".
According to another leaked cable, Li was taken aback to discover that he could conduct Chinese-language searches on Google’s main international Web site. When Li typed his name into the search engine at google.com, he found "results critical of him." James Fallows of The Atlantic questioned the accuracy of such claim. He noted "[e]ven the author of the State Department cable is careful to say that the U.S. government cannot confirm the report".
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Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
chief of the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
. He is the 5th ranked member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China
Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China
The Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Communist Party of China, whose membership varies between 5 and 9 people. The inner workings of the PSC are not well known, although it is believed that decisions of the PSC are...
, China's de facto top power organ, and has been a member since 2002. He also serves as Chairman of the CPC Central Guidance Commission for Building Spiritual Civilization
Central Guidance Commission for Building Spiritual Civilization of the Communist Party of China
The Central Guidance Commission for Building Spiritual Civilization of the Communist Party of China is a commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China tasked with educational efforts to build a "spiritual culture" based on socialism...
, de facto Head of propaganda and media relations. Previously he had served in Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
and Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
.
Biography
Li Changchun was born in February 1944 at DalianDalian
Dalian is a major city and seaport in the south of Liaoning province, Northeast China. It faces Shandong to the south, the Yellow Sea to the east and the Bohai Sea to the west and south. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, Dalian is the southernmost city of Northeast China and China's...
in Liaoning. He joined the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
in 1965 and graduated with a degree in electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
from the Harbin Institute of Technology
Harbin Institute of Technology
The Harbin Institute of Technology , or HIT, is colloquially known as Hagongda . It is a research university in the city of Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China....
in 1966. In 1983, at age 39, he became the youngest mayor and Party secretary of a major city, of Shenyang
Shenyang
Shenyang , or Mukden , is the capital and largest city of Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Currently holding sub-provincial administrative status, the city was once known as Shengjing or Fengtianfu...
, the capital of Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
. In 1987, he became governor of the province, a post he kept until 1990. As governor, mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
's first expressway
Controlled-access highway
A controlled-access highway is a highway designed exclusively for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow and ingress/egress regulated...
was built in the province, linking the cities of Shenyang
Shenyang
Shenyang , or Mukden , is the capital and largest city of Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Currently holding sub-provincial administrative status, the city was once known as Shengjing or Fengtianfu...
and Dalian
Dalian
Dalian is a major city and seaport in the south of Liaoning province, Northeast China. It faces Shandong to the south, the Yellow Sea to the east and the Bohai Sea to the west and south. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, Dalian is the southernmost city of Northeast China and China's...
. After Zhao Ziyang
Zhao Ziyang
Zhao Ziyang was a high-ranking politician in the People's Republic of China . He was the third Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1980 to 1987, and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1987 to 1989....
was purged from the party leadership in 1989 during the fallout from the Tiananmen Square protests
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
that same year, Li was initially also thought to have been removed from the leadership of the Communist Party because Li was a supporter of Zhao. Li's appearance on state television weeks later confirmed that this was not the case. Li served briefly as the Party chief in the agricultural province of Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
in the 1990s. Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin is a former Chinese politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2005...
sent him to serve as Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
Party Secretary, where he cracked down on corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
to 'put the house in order'. Li, again the youngest ever member, was promoted to the Politburo of the Communist Party of China
Politburo of the Communist Party of China
The Central Politburo of the Communist Party of China or Political bureau of the CPC Central Committee , formerly as Central Bureau before 1927, is a group of 24 people who oversee the Communist Party of China...
in 1998, and made a member of its Standing Committee after General Secretary
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China
The General Secretary of the Communist Party of China , officially General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is the highest ranking official within the Communist Party of China, a standing member of the Politburo and head of the Secretariat...
Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin is a former Chinese politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2005...
's retirement in 2002. In October 2007, the Communist Party of China announced that Li would serve another term as Propaganda Chief.
He contributes heavily to China's censorship campaign of propaganda and frequently orders media to downplay or not report on certain events. He currently holds no other official position. In 2006, he told the members of the All-China Journalists Association
All-China Journalists Association
All-China Journalists Association was established in Shanghai on November 8, 1937. It was organised by the Communist Party of China, but a part was also played by Fan Changjiang in July 1949....
to "closely encircle the overall work of the party and state". Li approved the construction of the National Museum
National museum
A national museum is a museum maintained by a nation.The following is a list of national museums:-Australia:*Australian National Aviation Museum*Australian National Maritime Museum*, Sydney*Australian War Memorial*Museum Victoria...
in 2006 after a series of disputes and delays about the building of the museum. He was the guest of honor at the opening of the National Center for the Performing Arts.
Li has put his support behind a number of creative projects that might otherwise have been censored by the government. He supported Zen Shaolin, a music, dance and martial arts show intended to increase tourism that opened in 2007 in Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
, despite the producers concerns that a celebration of religion and sacred music would be opposed by the government. Li allowed a 2009 movie Nanking! Nanking! by Lu Chuan
Lu Chuan
Lu Chuan is a Chinese filmmaker and screenwriter. He is the son of the novelist, Lu Tianming.-Education:Educated at the People's Liberation Army International Relations University in Nanjing, Lu spent two years serving in the Army as a secretary to a general. After his time in the army, Lu...
to continue running in theaters in the face of strong pressure from nationalists who objected to the sympathetic characterization in the film of a Japanese soldier. The film was one of ten chosen to help commemorate 60 years of Communist rule
60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China
The 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China took place on October 1, 2009. A military parade involving 10,000 troops and the display of many high-tech weapons was held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing and various celebrations were conducted all over the country...
.
Controversy from leaked diplomatic cables by Wikileaks
In December 2010, one of the leaked United States diplomatic cablesUnited States diplomatic cables leak
The United States diplomatic cables leak, widely known as Cablegate, began in February 2010 when WikiLeaks—a non-profit organization that publishes submissions from anonymous whistleblowers—began releasing classified cables that had been sent to the U.S. State Department by 274 of its consulates,...
quoted a contact that claimed Li Changchun and fellow Politburo Standing Committee member Zhou Yongkang
Zhou Yongkang
Zhou Yongkang is a senior leader of the Communist Party of China who is currently serving as the 9th ranked member of the powerful Politburo Standing Committee, and the head of the Central Political and Legislative Committee, an organ directing central government legal policy and the legislative...
oversaw Beijing's cyber attack against Google. However, such claim has been called into question, as according to The New York Times, the person who was cited in the cable describing Li's involvement in the campaign against Google’s Chinese operations denied knowing who had directed the hacking attack. He described a campaign coordinated by the Propaganda Department’s director, Liu Yunshan, and, in several occasions, Li and Zhou issued approvals. But he "had no direct knowledge linking them to the hacking attack aimed at securing commercial secrets or dissidents’ e-mail accounts".
According to another leaked cable, Li was taken aback to discover that he could conduct Chinese-language searches on Google’s main international Web site. When Li typed his name into the search engine at google.com, he found "results critical of him." James Fallows of The Atlantic questioned the accuracy of such claim. He noted "[e]ven the author of the State Department cable is careful to say that the U.S. government cannot confirm the report".
External links
- Li Changchun biography, China Vitae
- biography of Li Changchun People Daily
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