11 Facts About Jia Chunwang

Jia Chunwang is a Chinese politician, intelligence officer, and prosecutor who held top positions in both the security apparatus and judiciary of the People's Republic of China.

Jia Chunwang served as Minister of State Security for 13 years, as Minister of Public Security and finally as the procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

Jia Chunwang joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1962, and in 1964 he began teaching physics at Tsinghua University, while at the same time being active in the Communist Party branch within the university, called being a "double-load cadre".

In some foreign newspaper articles during the 1980s and 1990s, he was incorrectly referred to as an engineer; for example, in 1991 the New York Times described him thus: "the nation's spymaster, Jia Chunwang, who is Minister of State Security, is a 53-year-old English-speaking engineer".

In 1983 Jia Chunwang was one of the young officials chosen for senior positions when Deng sidelined older cadre.

Jia Chunwang's prospects improved when he became an acolyte of vice premier Qiao Shi.

Jia Chunwang steadily rose within the Communist Party and was eventually named Party Secretary of Beijing's Haidian District.

Jia Chunwang remained on this post for 13 years, until 1998, the longest tenure in the Ministry's history so far.

Jia Chunwang was described as low-key and self-effacing; his wife, Yu Jingzhi, is a professor at Tsinghua University.

Jia Chunwang was a member of the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th Communist Party Central Committees, from 1987 to 2007.

Jia Chunwang was instrumental in the actual crackdown and military suppression of the Tiananmen protests.