Chinese politician
Xia Baolong
(
Chinese
:
夏??
;
pinyin
:
Xia B?olong
; born 2 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. Between 2018 and 2023, he served as a vice chairman of the 13th
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
(CPPCC), being its secretary general from 2018 to 2020.
[1]
Xia was appointed director of the
Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office
in February 2020.
Early life
[
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]
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
Chinese Communist Party
in November 1973. He received a degree in Chinese from Hexi District Workers' University (
天津市河西??工大?
), 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.
[2]
Between 1999 and 2003 he studied political economics at
Peking University
. He has a doctoral degree in Economics.
[2]
Political career
[
edit
]
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 Chinese Communist Party.
[1]
Zhejiang
[
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]
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
Lu 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.
[1]
Xia is alleged to have issued orders for the removal of thousands of crosses from churches,
[3]
including the
Sanjiang Church
in the
Wenzhou
area.
[4]
[5]
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
.
Hong Kong
[
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]
On 13 February 2020, Xia was appointed director of the
Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office
.
[6]
In August 2020, Xia and ten other officials were sanctioned by the
United States Department of the Treasury
under
Executive Order 13936
by
President Trump
for undermining Hong Kong's autonomy.
[7]
[8]
[9]
On October 14, 2020, the United States Department of State released a report on 10 individuals who materially contributed to the failure of the China to meet its obligations under the Sino?British Joint Declaration and Hong Kong's Basic Law. Xia was on the list.
[10]
In February 2021, Xia said that only "patriots" could govern Hong Kong, and that positions in the executive, legislature and judiciary must follow the order.
[11]
Xia also claimed that "In terms of those rioters who are anti-China and who instigate riots with extremely notorious acts, for example,
Jimmy Lai
,
Benny Tai
and
Joshua Wong
, they are not only prohibited from interfering in any public power of the HKSAR, they also need to be punished severely in accordance with the law."
[12]
Additionally, Xia said that principle of "patriots" governing Hong Kong should also extend towards the education system.
[13]
In December 2021, Xia said that the people of Hong Kong would soon get "real" democracy under the new electoral system, where only "patriots" are allowed to serve.
[14]
In April 2023, Xia said that "There are many channels and ways to express interests and demands, they are diverse and a protest is not the only way to express interests and demands."
[15]
References
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1st
(1949?1954)
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2nd
(1954?1959)
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3rd
(1959?1965)
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4th
(1965?1978)
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5th
(1978?1983)
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6th
(1983?1988)
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7th
(1988?1993)
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8th
(1993?1998)
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9th
(1998?2003)
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10th
(2003?2008)
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11th
(2008?2013)
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12th
(2013?2018)
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13th
(2018?2023)
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14th
(2023?present)
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