Luo Huining
骆惠宁
Luo in 2012
Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong
In office
4 January 2020 – 14 January 2023
PremierLi Keqiang
Preceded byWang Zhimin
Succeeded byZheng Yanxiong
Communist Party Secretary of Shanxi
In office
June 2016 – November 2019
DeputyLou Yangsheng (Governor)
Preceded byWang Rulin
Succeeded byLou Yangsheng
Communist Party Secretary of Qinghai
In office
March 2013 – June 2016
Preceded byQiang Wei
Succeeded byWang Guosheng
Governor of Qinghai
In office
January 2010 – March 2013
Preceded bySong Xiuyan
Succeeded byHao Peng
Personal details
Born (1954-10-05) 5 October 1954 (age 69)
Dangtu County, Anhui, China
Political partyChinese Communist Party
Alma materAnhui University
Luo Huining
Simplified Chinese骆惠宁
Traditional Chinese駱惠寕

Luo Huining (Chinese: 骆惠宁; born 5 October 1954) is a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party who was the director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong between 2020 and 2023. A native of Yiwu, Zhejiang, he was previously the Governor, then Party Secretary of Qinghai province before being appointed Party Secretary of Shanxi province.

Career

Luo Huining is a native of his ancestral home of Yiwu, Zhejiang province.[1] He was born in Dangtu County, Anhui province. He entered the work force in 1970 as a sent-down youth in the countryside of Ma'anshan, and in 1971 became a steel worker at the Maanshan Iron and Steel Company.[2]

After the Cultural Revolution, in October 1978 Luo was admitted to the Department of Economics at Anhui University, studying Political Economics. He joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in March 1982 and graduated in August 1982.[2]

After university Luo Huining started working for the provincial government of Anhui, rising to the position of Propaganda Chief of the province in 1999. He had a brief stint as Communist Party Secretary of Chaohu prefecture from 1998 to 1999.[2] He spent the next three years earning a masters degree in management science and engineering the Business School of the Chinese University of Science and Technology and was awarded a doctorate in economics by the People’s University of China in 2003.[1]

In April 2003 Luo was transferred from Anhui where he grew up, to distant Qinghai to become a Deputy Party Committee Secretary and president of the Party School of the CCP Provincial Committee.[1] In January 2010, he was promoted to Governor of Qinghai, succeeding Song Xiuyan. In March 2013 he was again promoted to Communist Party Secretary of Qinghai, replacing Qiang Wei who had been transferred to Jiangxi province.[3] During his term, the party pursued increasingly restrictive controls on a large Tibetan minority.[4]

On June 30, 2016, he replaced Wang Rulin as the party secretary of Shanxi[2] where he spoke of his "all-out efforts to enforce party discipline" there.[5]

Luo was an alternate member of the 17th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (2007–2012). He has been a full member of the 18th (2012–2017) and 19th (2017–2022) Central Committees.[1][3]

In January 2020 Luo succeeded Wang Zhimin as the Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong by a decision of the State Council.[6][7][8] His appointment was widely viewed as fall-out from the rout of pro-Beijing candidates in the November 2019 District Council elections.[9][4]

On 3 July 2020, Xinhua, the official Chinese state news agency, stated that the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was formally established with 10 members. Luo was appointed as a National Security Advisor to the committee.[10]

In August 2020, Luo 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. Luo responded: "I can send $100 to Mr. Trump to freeze since I don't have any assets abroad."[11][12][13][14]

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. Luo was on the list.[15] Reporting at that time took note repeatedly of his ascension.

On January 14, 2023, Lou Huining was succeeded by Zheng Yanxiong as the director of the Liaison Office.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Luo Huining". China Vitae. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 2020-01-12.
  2. ^ a b c d 骆惠宁简历 [Biography of Luo Huining] (in Chinese). People's Daily. Archived from the original on 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  3. ^ a b 骆惠宁简历 [Biography of Luo Huining] (in Chinese). Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on February 2, 2010. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  4. ^ a b Bradsher, Keith (January 4, 2020). "China Replaces Its Top Representative in Hong Kong With an Enforcer". The New York Times. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  5. ^ "China replaces its top official in protest-riven Hong Kong". The Asahi Shimbun. 5 January 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  6. ^ "國務院：免去王志民中聯辦主任職務 前山西省委書記駱惠寧接任". 香港01 (in Chinese). 4 January 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Lack of HK experience no barrier for liaison chief". RTHK. 4 January 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  8. ^ "'Reshuffle doesn't signal a major policy change'". RTHK. 4 January 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  9. ^ "China names Luo Huining as new Hong Kong Liaison Director". The Star Online. 4 January 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  10. ^ Liu, Mingyang (8 August 2020). "The Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is formally established with Carrie Lam as chairman". Xinhua Net. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "Treasury Sanctions Individuals for Undermining Hong Kong's Autonomy". United States Department of the Treasury. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  14. ^ Staff; agencies (2020-08-08). "'I can send $100 to Mr Trump': senior Chinese official ridicules US Hong Kong sanctions". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ "China appoints new Hong Kong liaison office chief". Reuters. 2023-01-14. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
Party political offices Preceded byWang Rulin Communist Party Secretary of Shanxi 2016–2019 Succeeded byLou Yangsheng Preceded byQiang Wei Communist Party Secretary of Qinghai 2013–2016 Succeeded byWang Guosheng Government offices Preceded byWang Zhimin Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong 2020–2023 Succeeded byZheng Yanxiong Preceded bySong Xiuyan Governor of Qinghai 2010–2013 Succeeded byHao Peng
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