Xia Baolong
Xia Baolong | |
|---|---|
夏宝龙 | |
 | |
| Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office | |
| Assumed office February 13 2020[1] | |
| Premier | Li Keqiang |
| Deputy | Zhang Xiaoming[1] Luo Huining[1] Fu Ziying[1] |
| Preceded by | Zhang Xiaoming |
| Communist Party Secretary of Zhejiang | |
| In office December 2012 – April 2017 | |
| Deputy | Li Qiang (Governor) Wang Huizhong |
| General secretary | Xi Jinping |
| Preceded by | Zhao Hongzhu |
| Succeeded by | Che Jun |
| Governor of Zhejiang Province | |
| In office August 2011 – December 2012 | |
| Party Secretary | Zhao Hongzhu |
| Preceded by | Lü Zushan |
| Succeeded by | Li Qiang |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 1952 (age 71) Tianjin, China |
| Political party | Communist Party of China |
Xia Baolong (Chinese: 夏宝龙; born December 1952) is a Chinese politician. Originally from Tianjin, Xia began his political career in the Communist Youth League. He served as the vice mayor of Tianjin, governor and Communist Party Secretary of Zhejiang province. Since 2018, he has served as a vice chairman of the 13th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and secretary general.[2] He has a doctoral degree in Economics.[3] Xia was appointed director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office in February 2020.
Career
Xia Baolong was born in Tianjin. In his youth, Xia was an elementary and high school teacher in Hebei and Tianjin, and a grassroots level official of the Communist Youth League. He joined the Communist Party of China in November 1973. He received a degree in Chinese from Hexi District Workers' University (天津市河西区职工大学), an adult-education college, in 1980. Later he rose to the positions of Party Secretary and governor of Hexi District, and then Vice Mayor of Tianjin.[3] Between 1999 and 2003 he studied political economics at Peking University.
In November 2003, Xia was transferred to Zhejiang to become a Deputy Party Secretary of the province. Xia served under then-Zhejiang Party Secretary Xi Jinping. In August 2011, he became the acting governor of Zhejiang, succeeding Lü Zushan, and was officially elected as governor in January 2012. On 18 December 2012, he was promoted to Communist Party Secretary of Zhejiang, the top political office of the province.[2]
Xia is alleged to have issued orders for the removal of thousands of crosses from churches,[4] including the Sanjiang Church in the Wenzhou area.[5][6] Wenzhou is considered a centre of Christianity in China.
Under Xia, Zhejiang hosted the 2016 G20 Summit in Hangzhou. He also attempted to attract Zhejiang businesspeople from abroad. In April 2017 he became a member of the National People's Congress Environment Protection and Resources Conservation Committee.
Xia Baolong was an alternate member of the 15th, 16th, and 17th Central Committees, and a full member of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.[2]
In February 2020, during the Covid-19 emergency affecting Hong Kong, Xia was appointed director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e "China replaces head of its Hong Kong and Macau affairs office". Reuters. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
- ^ a b c 夏宝龙任浙江省委书记. Xinhua News Agency (in Chinese). 2012-12-18. Retrieved 2013-02-06.
- ^ a b 夏宝龙同志简历 [Biography of Xia Baolong]. People's Daily (in Chinese). December 2012. Retrieved 2013-02-06.
- ^ Yu, Verna (13 February 2020). "China's new Hong Kong chief a hardliner known for crusade against Christian churches". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
- ^ Johnson, Ian (2014-05-29). "Church-State Clash in China Coalesces Around a Toppled Spire". The New York Times.
- ^ "传夏宝龙直接下令拆毁教堂 五千基督徒守护". Duowei News. 2014-04-02.