27 Facts About Zeng Qinghong

Zeng Qinghong was born on 30 July 1939 and is a retired Chinese politician.

Zeng Qinghong was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, China's highest leadership council, and First Secretary of the Secretariat of the Central Committee between 2002 and 2007.

Zeng Qinghong served as the Vice-President of the People's Republic of China from 2003 to 2008.

For years, Zeng Qinghong was the primary force behind the party's organization and personnel.

Zeng Qinghong was born to a family of Hakka background in Ji'an, Jiangxi province, in July 1939.

Zeng Qinghong graduated from Beijing 101 Middle School and the Automatic Control Department at the Beijing Institute of Technology.

Zeng Qinghong was an engineer, a specialist in automatic control systems.

Zeng Qinghong joined the Chinese Communist Party in April 1960.

Zeng Qinghong spent the early part of his career as a technician in the military defense industry in Beijing.

Zeng Qinghong was sent down to do manual labor on People's Liberation Army bases in Hunan and Guangdong during the Cultural Revolution.

In 1984, Zeng Qinghong began working for the Shanghai municipal government, where he became a key ally of then-Party Committee Secretary Jiang Zemin.

Zeng Qinghong promoted Jiang's leadership and thinking, broadened Jiang's network, and became Jiang's right-hand-man.

Zeng Qinghong helped propagate Jiang's guiding political philosophy known as the "Three Represents" inside the party.

However, Jiang made it clear that a 'pre-condition' for his stepping down at the 16th Party Congress was for Zeng Qinghong to become a member of the elite Politburo Standing Committee.

At the 16th Party Congress held in 2002, Zeng Qinghong became a member of the 16th Central Committee, a member of its Politburo and of the Politburo Standing Committee, the Party's central decision-making body, as well as serving as the First Secretary of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party, responsible for party administrative affairs and policy coordination.

Zeng Qinghong became vice-president in March 2003 at the National People's Congress held that year.

Zeng Qinghong was initially expected to succeed Hu as Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission as a condition of Jiang's resignation from the chairmanship in favor of Hu.

Zeng Qinghong was an important figure within the highest ranks of party leadership.

Zeng Qinghong was said to be a crucial player in pushing Jiang's move towards full retirement in 2004, when Jiang relinquished his final title, Chairman of the Central Military Commission.

Zeng Qinghong worked with Hu to manage the potential effects on China of the ouster of authoritarian regimes in Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and Ukraine.

When Shanghai Party Committee Secretary Chen Liangyu was dismissed in September 2006, Zeng Qinghong led the anti-corruption task force against his longtime political enemy since they were in Shanghai.

Additionally, Zeng Qinghong played a leading role in coordinating the funeral service for Politburo Standing Committee member Huang Ju, who died of cancer in 2007.

At the 17th Party Congress held in 2007, Zeng Qinghong departed from the Central Committee, its Politburo, and the Politburo Standing Committee.

Zeng Qinghong's Vice-presidency ended in March 2008 at the 2008 National People's Congress.

Since then Zeng Qinghong has made public appearances only on a few ceremonial occasions, such as the 30th anniversary of the Third plenum of the 11th Central Committee in 2008.

Zeng Qinghong further caused controversy with his fight to demolish and rebuild it.

In 2007, an expose published by finance magazine Caijing alleged that Zeng Qinghong Wei had, through a series of complex corporate vehicles, completed the purchase of power generation giant Shandong Luneng at 70 billion yuan below market value, and that Zeng Qinghong Wei was, for all intents and purposes, the real owner of the company despite his name not appearing in corporate documents.