Meng Jianzhu

Meng Jianzhu
孟建柱
Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 November 2012
Deputy	Guo Shengkun
General Secretary	Xi Jinping
Preceded by	Zhou Yongkang
Minister of Public Security
In office 29 October 2007 – 28 December 2012
Premier	Wen Jiabao
Preceded by	Zhou Yongkang
Succeeded by	Guo Shengkun
Communist Party Secretary of Jiangxi
In office April 2001 – October 2007
Deputy	Huang Zhiquan (2001-2006) Wu Xinxiong (2006-)
Preceded by	Shu Huiguo
Succeeded by	Su Rong
Personal details
Born	July 1947 (age 69) Wu County, Jiangsu
Political party	Communist Party of China
Alma mater	Shanghai Mechanical College

Meng Jianzhu (Chinese: 孟建柱; pinyin: Mèng Jiànzhù; born July 1947) is a Chinese politician and a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China since 2012. He is currently the Secretary of Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission (Zhengfawei) of the Communist Party of China and the successor to Zhou Yongkang.^[1] He also heads the Central Public Security Comprehensive Management Commission.

Meng began his career in a farming cooperative based in rural Shanghai. He made his way up the ranks in the city, serving as vice mayor in charge of agriculture, then deputy party chief. Prior to his tenure as Zhengfawei chief, he also served as the Minister of Public Security and Communist Party Secretary of Jiangxi Province.

Biography

Early Life, Shanghai

Meng was born in July 1947 in Wu County, a present-day urban district of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. In the 1960s, he headed to Changxing Island in Shanghai to become a tractor operator. For the next 13 years he worked on the rural agricultural cooperative. He graduated from the Shanghai Mechanical College (now part of University of Shanghai for Science and Technology). He joined the Communist Party of China in 1971. He became head of the rural cooperative in 1981.^[2]

He spent much of his earlier political career in Shanghai. He served in leading roles in Chuansha County (which became Pudong New District in 1992) and Jiading County, before being transferred to become one of the deputy mayors of Shanghai starting in 1993. His portfolio included was agriculture and rural development. In 1996 he was promoted to become the deputy Communist Party secretary of Shanghai, one of the most powerful positions in China's commercial hub. He held the position until 2001. While in Shanghai Meng was low-key and camera-shy, but was largely popular with city residents.^[2]

Jiangxi

In 2001, Meng was appointed the Communist Party secretary of Jiangxi Province. Some say Meng was transferred out of Shanghai because he had lost out on a struggle to Chen Liangyu become the city's party boss.^[2] Meng and Chen were polar opposites in many ways - Chen preferred to be in the limelight while Meng preferred doing work behind the scenes. Meng was also known for paying regular respects for retired municipal politicians. When Meng arrived in Jiangxi, most residents were optimistic. A common refrain amongst Jiangxi residents at the time was "if Jiangxi wants to be rich, keep Meng Jianzhu!".^[3]

While Meng was often regarded by observers as a "soft" leader, he was known for his strong adherence to rules and principles. For example, once during a provincial conference of officials at county level and above, some county leaders did not show up and instead sent their assistants to attend. Meng responded to this by postponing the entire conference until all the required attendees arrived as a means to reprimand those who failed to show.^[2] He remained party chief of Jiangxi until October 28, 2007, when he was transferred to Beijing and appointed the Minister of the Public Security, replacing political heavyweight Zhou Yongkang, who was elevated to become a member of the Politburo Standing Committee.

Politburo and Political and Legal Affairs Commission

Meng became a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China in November 2012, following the 18th Party Congress. He succeeded Zhou as Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission. However, the commission's powers and autonomy was significantly curbed during Meng's term as a result of the consolidation of power around the central authority of Xi Jinping. In December 2012, he was succeeded by Guo Shengkun as Minister of Public Security. In January 2013, Meng announced that his commission would begin work on abolishing the "re-education through labour" system, which has been widely criticized internationally.^[4] This was further cemented at the third plenary session of the 18th Central Committee held in November 2013. The implementation of the policy was largely completed by the end of that year. Meng also criticized the interference of local party authorities, particularly local Zhengfawei, in individual court cases.^[5]

While his predecessor Zhou Yongkang underwent investigation for corruption and other offenses in 2014, Meng remained untouched by the scandal despite having served under Zhou for five years as public security minister. Other former subordinates of Zhou in the ministry, such as former deputy minister Li Dongsheng, were detained for investigation.

Personal life

Meng's associates and colleagues describe him as soft-spoken, humble, likes to smile, of thin build, and looks like an intellectual.^[2]

References

1. http://english.gov.cn/2012-11/19/content_2270273.htm
2. "孟建柱官场路：先低调再重拳出击". Aozhou Ribao. April 21, 2009.
3. 江西要致富，留住孟建柱
4. "China to end notorious forced labour system". South China Morning Post. January 16, 2013.
5. "Security tsar Meng Jianzhu criticises interference in court proceedings". South China Morning Post. January 9, 2013.

External links

• (Chinese) Meng Jianzhu's profile, Xinhuanet, October 29, 2007.