Yu Youjun

Yu Youjun (simplified Chinese: 于幼军; traditional Chinese: 于幼軍; pinyin: Yú Yòujūn; born January 1953) is a Chinese politician. He is currently a deputy director of the Office of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project of the State Council.

Among other positions, he was once the Mayor of Shenzhen, Executive Vice-Governor of Hunan province, and Governor of Shanxi province. He resigned as Shanxi governor following the a slave labour scandal in the province in 2007. He was then transferred to serve as Party Branch Secretary and Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Culture. In October 2008 he was removed from the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and put on probation for two years, a disciplinary measure that is considered to be just short of expulsion from the party. He eventually re-joined government.

Political career

A native of Feng County in Jiangsu, Yu holds a doctorate in philosophy. He joined the CPC in June 1976. Working mainly in Guangdong province, he eventually served as the party secretaries of various districts in the city of Guangzhou. From 1994 to 2000 he was a member of the standing committee and concurrently chief of the propaganda department of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee.

Yu came to prominence as Mayor of Shenzhen, China's first and arguably most successful Special Economic Zone (SEZ), from 2000 to 2003.^[1] In November 2002, an 18,000-character essay "Shenzhen, who has abandoned you?" published online by a netizen 'Crazy for her' (wǒwèiyīkuáng) attracted much attention for its comprehensive and data-rich examination of various public policies pertaining to the SEZ and the implications of extending them to other parts of the country.^[2] Mayor Yu met with the author of the essay Guo Zhongxiao (呙中校) on January 19, 2003, to discuss his essay and exchange views on Shenzhen and its development. His act was hailed in various media as a great step forward in boosting communication and dialog between high officials and Internet users.^[3]

Yu was promoted to Vice Governor of Hunan province and deputy secretary of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee in June 2003. In 2005 he was promoted again to become Governor of the coal-rich province of Shanxi. During his time in Shanxi, he undertook several key initiatives including the closure of several thousand illegal coal mines and the improvement of the environment.^[4] Yu was also known for attracting investment into the province, which was credited with fostering the province's explosive economic growth. Yu came onto the international spotlight following the 2007 Chinese slave scandal involving children and migrant workers who were forced to work in kilns located in Shanxi province. He publicly apologized for the mishap and offered a self-criticism.^[5] Yu resigned as Governor in September 2007, and was succeeded by Meng Xuenong.^[6] Meng would fall from grace himself only a few months into his term due to the fallout from the 2008 Shanxi mudslide.

As part of a wider Party reshuffle in preparation for the formation of the new Cabinet in 2008,^[7] Yu resigned his party and government positions in Shanxi in September and October 2007 respectively. He was then appointed the secretary of the leading party group and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture.^[8][9] Yu was chosen as a member of the 17th CPC Central Committee in October 2007.

Exit from politics

Following his assumption of the position of leading party group secretary, Yu Youjun was unexpectedly passed over for promotion to Minister of Culture in the March 2008 Cabinet reshuffle. In addition, his non-appearance in a ministry press conference led to speculation among foreign media that he had been removed from his post and was under investigation.^[10][11] This was refuted at the time by the newly appointed Minister of Culture Cai Wu,^[12] by the deputy director of the CPC Organization Department Li Jianhua,^[13] and in a terse statement by the official Xinhua News Agency.^[14]

However, Yu Youjun's position was finally confirmed in October 2008, during the Third Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee. The committee acted on a report on Yu submitted by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and removed him from the Central Committee, subjecting his party membership to a two-year probationary period.^[15] Shortly before, Minister of Culture Cai Wu had also assumed his former position as the ministry's leading party group secretary.^[16] No details on Yu's disciplinary infractions were officially released, but rumors in Hong Kong media reports speculate that investigators had found that Yu may have used his influence to allow a company to win a government contract.^[17][18]

South-North Water Diversion Project

Yu was officially restored to a government post in February 2011 when he was appointed as deputy director of the Office of South-North Water Transfer Project, a position with an equivalent rank to that of a vice minister.^[19] This indicated that he had re-gained favour after being removed from the Central Committee. After taking on the post, Yu routinely makes inspections and directs work in the regions, and leads the work of some party branch organizations.^[20]

References

External links

• (Chinese) Yu's official biography Xinhua
• (Chinese) Yu's biography at the South-to-North Water Diversion Project Commission
• (Chinese) “明星领导”于幼军落马祸起深圳 'Star leader' Yu Youjun's downfall: trouble originated in Shenzhen (profile of Yu's political career) Yangtse Evening Post (2008-11-04)