Who （HU）Will Replace XI
By Daju Tan (大局谈)
【Editor’s Note: Hu Chunhua, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC, led a research group from October 14 to 17, 2023, focusing on poverty alleviation efforts in Hunan Province—the investigation aimed to consolidate progress and enhance development in impoverished areas. Hu, born in 1963 in a rural village in Hubei, achieved academic excellence, becoming the first Peking University student from Wufeng County. Upon graduation, Hu chose to work in Tibet, where he spent 19 years holding various leadership positions and contributing to local development. Known for his pragmatic work style and dedication to the grassroots, he earned high praise from local cadres and the public. Over his career, Hu has held numerous prominent roles, including Governor of Hebei Province and Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee. His leadership approach is characterized by humility, hard work, and a commitment to serving the people, making him a notable figure in Chinese politics.】
According to the Hunan Daily, from October 14 to 17, Hu Chunhua (胡春华), Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), led a research group from the CPPCC's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Affairs to conduct a special investigation in Hunan Province. The focus was on "consolidating and expanding the achievements of poverty alleviation and enhancing the endogenous development momentum of poverty-stricken areas and people who have been lifted out of poverty."
Liu Lei, Vice Chairman of the CPPCC's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Affairs, participated in the investigation. Provincial Party Secretary Shen Xiaoming, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Governor Mao Weiming, and Chairman of the Provincial CPPCC Mao Wanchun met with the delegation.
The research group delved into Huaihua City, Loudi City, and Zhangjiajie City to understand the employment training of those lifted out of poverty, their household income, improvements in living conditions, and developments in spiritual and cultural life. They engaged in extensive exchanges with relevant local departments, grassroots cadres, and the public to grasp the real situation, inquire about needs and strategies, and listen to opinions and suggestions.
During the meeting, Shen Xiaoming, on behalf of the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government, welcomed the research group and expressed gratitude for the long-term concern and support that the CPPCC has given to Hunan.
Members of the research group—including Zhang Yong, Guo Wei, Wan Jianmin, Dan Yang, and Huang Sanwen—and provincial leaders Qin Guowen and He Jihua participated in relevant activities.
Hu Chunhua, born in April 1963 in Sanfangping Village, Yuyangguan Town—then known as Mayandun Brigade, Liujiaping Commune, Yuyangguan District—was a farmer's son born into poverty. His junior high school was 4 kilometers away, and his high school was 6.5 kilometers away; he attended both as a day student. Every day, he had to get up at five o'clock, eat breakfast, bring lunch, and walk two hours to school.
In 1979, Chunhua became the top humanities student in the county and was admitted to Peking University, becoming the first Peking University student in Wufeng's history. Upon receiving his admission notice to raise tuition fees, he carried a basket, took a dustpan and shovel, and went to the hydropower station construction site by the river to carry sand. At that time, Wufeng was still very poor; just two years earlier, the entire county had been "cutting off the tail of capitalism."
After entering the Chinese Department at Peking University, Chunhua served as the secretary of the department's Communist Youth League committee, becoming the youngest student with the highest "position" in his class. Upon graduation, he was recognized as an outstanding graduate.
This talented Peking University student made an astonishing decision after graduation: to work in China's most challenging area, Tibet. This news was immediately published on the front page of Guangming Daily (《光明日报》). People's Daily (《人民日报》), Xinhua News Agency, China Central Television, and other media followed with extensive reports, causing a sensation nationwide.
Later, Professor Tang Zuopan (唐作藩), a Chinese language history teacher at Peking University, remarked, "Hu Chunhua had excellent academic performance. He could have stayed in Beijing to work or continued with graduate studies, but he insisted on going to work in Tibet. At that time, he went to the Central Institute of Nationalities to learn Tibetan and got up early every day to exercise."
On July 18, 1983, at the conference for graduating students from capital universities held in the Great Hall of the People, Chunhua said: "China is a multi-ethnic country. Ethnic minority autonomous regions account for 60% of the country's total area, and most are in border regions. These areas are vast arenas with much to accomplish. My hometown is also an inland ethnic minority area. Without the rapid development brought by reform, opening up, and modernization, I might still be in those closed mountains, engaged in slash-and-burn farming. Therefore, the modernization of the Han nationality alone does not mean that the Chinese nation has achieved modernization, nor does it mean that China has achieved modernization."
His eldest brother, Wang Yonghong, still remembers that on August 23, 1983, his younger brother bid farewell to their parents, siblings, and the mountains and rivers that nurtured him in Wufeng, embarking on an 8,000-mile journey to Tibet that took more than 20 days to reach Lhasa.
After arriving in Tibet, Chunhua embodied the hardworking spirit of Peking University students. Starting from grassroots and small tasks, he successively worked in the Organization Department of the Tibet Autonomous Region's Communist Youth League Committee, Tibet Youth Daily, and the Tibet Hotel, fulfilling his promise step by step. In 1987, at the age of 24, Chunhua became Deputy Secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region's Communist Youth League Committee, and in 1992, he was appointed Deputy Commissioner of the Administrative Office of Nyingchi Prefecture.
Nyingchi Prefecture, known as the "Jiangnan of Tibet," is famous for the world's deepest canyon—the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon. Upon taking office, he focused on practical work, often conducting in-depth investigations to explore new ideas for economic development in Tibetan areas, starting from Nyingchi. In the autumn of that year, to find the best plan to accelerate the construction of the Motuo Highway, Chunhua led administrative office cadres into snow-capped mountains and forests, trekking across the entire Motuo region for field surveys—a journey that took 15 days round trip.
Motuo, more than 500 kilometers from Lhasa, was the only county in the country inaccessible by road. Mail arrived only once every three to six months, sometimes even half a year. The state had invested multiple times in road construction but was repeatedly forced to halt due to insurmountable obstacles. During the field survey for the Motuo Highway, Chunhua collaborated with builders to devise plans to accelerate construction, implemented measures for each section, and solved on-site difficulties, eventually opening a simple road to Motuo. Reflecting on this, Chunhua was filled with emotion: "Only by being among the people can we get close to their hearts."
In 1992, after serving as Secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region's Communist Youth League Committee, Chunhua was appointed in 1995 as Deputy Secretary of the Shannan Prefectural Committee and Commissioner of the Administrative Office. Shannan is, according to legend, where a divine monkey and a rakshasa woman united to give birth to the Tibetan people. It is the cradle of the Tibetan nation and the birthplace of Tibetan culture. Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo rose from here, creating the brilliance of the Tubo Kingdom. The Tang-Tubo alliance and Princess Wencheng's journey to Tibet have been celebrated for centuries. The splendid and colorful Yalong culture greatly enriched this scholar and political rising star.
From 1997 to 2001, Chunhua served as Secretary of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League and Vice Chairman of the All-China Youth Federation. During his tenure in Shannan and at the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, he pursued further studies in the youth cadre class, provincial and ministerial cadre class, and the world economy major in the on-the-job graduate program at the Central Party School.
Starting in July 2001, Chunhua returned to Tibet, serving successively as a member of the Standing Committee of the Tibet Autonomous Region Party Committee, Secretary-General, and concurrently, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Autonomous Region's directly subordinate organs; Deputy Secretary of the Regional Party Committee, Executive Vice Chairman of the Autonomous Region, and President of the Party School of the Regional Party Committee. In his work, he was steady and impartial, loved visiting grassroots communities, was intelligent and capable, highly efficient, and could speak Tibetan and perform Tibetan dances, integrating seamlessly with the Tibetan people. He affectionately said, "I grew up in Tibet; the Tibetan people nurtured me. Only by wholeheartedly doing more and doing practical things can I live up to the organization's cultivation and the high expectations of the Tibetan people."
According to police, aid-to-Tibet personnel could take a three-month home leave every two years. But Hu Chunhua never took a proper vacation; he mostly used meetings or business trips to briefly visit home, leaving before even warming his seat. Over more than a decade, he visited six of Tibet's seven prefectures and cities and over 50 of its 75 counties. Wherever he went, he always visited the poor, understood local customs, and did his utmost to do good and practical things for grassroots Tibetan compatriots. He immersed himself among the masses, becoming one of them, and was highly praised by local cadres and Tibetans.
Chunhua worked in Tibet for 19 years and had a deep affection for the region. He said, "Every place in Tibet is unique. The boldness of Chamdo, the beauty of Nyingchi, the vastness of Nagqu, the grandeur of Ngari, the profound historical and cultural heritage of Shannan and Shigatse—all are worth singing about. Even the music here is pure, deep, and expansive."
In November 2006, Chunhua was appointed First Secretary of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League. In March of the following year, he stirred things up at an expanded meeting of the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, angrily criticizing some league officials for being impetuous, busy with social engagements, boasting, and flamboyant behavior. He demanded that league cadres be low-key, talk less, and do more. He said, "Working in league positions, I personally feel it's more of a training process; directly making contributions can't compare with party and government departments. Therefore, the organization's standard for evaluating us mainly depends on whether you grow healthily."
During the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, when Chunhua was interviewed by Chinese and foreign media about his personal ideals, he said, "Ideals are relative to utilitarianism. We need to be pragmatic, but we can't be too utilitarian or impetuous; we must always pursue something noble."
After 2008, Chunhua was transferred to serve as Deputy Secretary of the Hebei Provincial Party Committee, Acting Governor, and then Governor, and later as Secretary of the Party Committee of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. In November 2012, after being elected as a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, he concurrently served as Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee in December. As the youngest provincial party secretary, his pragmatic and truth-seeking work style, innovative spirit, and open-mindedness earned him the "People's Secretary."
On November 15, 2012, Hu Chunhua, then Secretary of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Party Committee, was elected as a member of the Political Bureau of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China at its First Plenary Session, becoming a national-level deputy leader of the CPC Central Committee. The Tujia mountain villages of Wufeng erupted in excitement; people spread the news, proud and cheering for this son who had emerged from the mountains. At that time, he was not yet 50 years old.
Hu Chunhua, this outstanding son from the Tujia (土家) mountainous region of Wufeng, spent more than thirty years achieving a magnificent transformation from a rural student to a Peking University scholar and finally to a party and state leader. As an innovator and practitioner full of democratic spirit, scientific approach, pioneering vision, and foresight, his life journey epitomizes a pro-people, practical, studious, and modest individual.