Xia Baolong
夏宝龙
Xia in November 2014
Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office
Assumed office
February 13, 2020
PremierLi Keqiang
DeputyZhang Xiaoming
Luo Huining
Fu Ziying
Preceded byZhang Xiaoming
Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
In office
14 March 2018 – 10 March 2023
ChairmanWang Yang
Secretary-General of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
In office
14 March 2018 – 19 May 2020
ChairmanWang Yang
Preceded byZhang Qingli
Succeeded byLi Bin
Communist Party Secretary of Zhejiang
In office
18 December 2012 – 26 April 2017
DeputyLi Qiang (Governor)
Wang Huizhong
General secretaryXi Jinping
Preceded byZhao Hongzhu
Succeeded byChe Jun
Director of the Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress
In office
January 2013 – April 2017
Preceded byZhao Hongzhu
Succeeded byChe Jun
Governor of Zhejiang
In office
August 2011 – 21 December 2012
Party SecretaryZhao Hongzhu
Preceded byLü Zushan
Succeeded byLi Qiang
Personal details
Born (1952-12-02) 2 December 1952
Tianjin, China
Political partyChinese Communist Party
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese夏寶龍
Simplified Chinese夏宝龙

Xia Baolong (Chinese: 夏宝龙; pinyin: Xià Bǎolóng; 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

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.[2] Between 1999 and 2003 he studied political economics at Peking University. He has a doctoral degree in Economics.[2]

Political career

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

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.[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

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

  1. 1 2 3 夏宝龙任浙江省委书记. Xinhua News Agency (in Chinese). 2012-12-18. Archived from the original on May 6, 2014. Retrieved 2013-02-06.
  2. 1 2 夏宝龙同志简历 [Biography of Xia Baolong]. People's Daily (in Chinese). December 2012. Retrieved 2013-02-06.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ Johnson, Ian (2014-05-29). "Church-State Clash in China Coalesces Around a Toppled Spire". The New York Times.
  5. ↑ "传夏宝龙直接下令拆毁教堂 五千基督徒守护". Duowei News. 2014-04-02.
  6. ↑ "China replaces head of its Hong Kong and Macau affairs office". Reuters. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  7. ↑ "US sanctions Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, police chief and 9 other top officials for 'undermining autonomy'". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  8. ↑ Macias, Amanda (7 August 2020). "U.S. sanctions Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam for carrying out Chinese 'policies of suppression'". CNBC. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  9. ↑ "Treasury Sanctions Individuals for Undermining Hong Kong's Autonomy". United States Department of the Treasury. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  10. ↑ U.S. Department of State. "Identification of Foreign Persons Involved in the Erosion of the Obligations of China Under the Joint Declaration or the Basic Law". Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  11. ↑ "'Patriots' must hold key roles in Hong Kong government, judiciary: Beijing". South China Morning Post. 2021-02-22. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  12. ↑ "Xia Baolong singles out trio for 'severe punishment' - RTHK". news.rthk.hk. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  13. ↑ "Hong Kong media and education sectors should also be 'governed by patriots,' top Beijing official says". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  14. ↑ "HK people about to enjoy real democracy: Xia Baolong - RTHK". news.rthk.hk. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  15. ↑ Ho, Kelly. "Top Chinese official did not mean Hongkongers could not join demos, pro-Beijing heavyweight says - Hong Kong Free Press HKFP". hongkongfp.com. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
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