Xia Baolong

Xia Baolong (Chinese: 夏宝龙; pinyin: Xià Bǎolóng; born 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. Since 2018, he has served as a vice chairman of the 13th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and secretary general.[2] He has a doctoral degree in Economics.[3] Xia was appointed director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office in February 2020.

In this Chinese name, the family name is Xia.
Xia Baolong
夏宝龙
Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office
Assumed office
February 13, 2020[1]
PremierLi Keqiang
DeputyZhang Xiaoming[1]
Luo Huining[1]
Fu Ziying[1]
Preceded byZhang Xiaoming
Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
Assumed office
March 2018
ChairmanWang Yang
Communist Party Secretary of Zhejiang
In office
December 2012 – April 2017
DeputyLi Qiang (Governor)
Wang Huizhong
General secretaryXi Jinping
Preceded byZhao Hongzhu
Succeeded byChe Jun
Governor of Zhejiang Province
In office
August 2011 – December 2012
Party SecretaryZhao Hongzhu
Preceded byLü Zushan
Succeeded byLi Qiang
Personal details
BornDecember 1952 (age 68)
Tianjin, China
Political partyCommunist Party of China
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese夏寶龍
Simplified Chinese夏宝龙

Career

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 Communist Party of China 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.[3] Between 1999 and 2003 he studied political economics at Peking University.

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.[2]

Xia is alleged to have issued orders for the removal of thousands of crosses from churches,[4] including the Sanjiang Church in the Wenzhou area.[5][6] 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.

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 Communist Party of China.[2]

In February 2020, Xia was appointed director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office.[1]

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]

References
  1. "China replaces head of its Hong Kong and Macau affairs office". Reuters. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  2. 夏宝龙任浙江省委书记. Xinhua News Agency (in Chinese). 2012-12-18. Retrieved 2013-02-06.
  3. 夏宝龙同志简历 [Biography of Xia Baolong]. People's Daily (in Chinese). December 2012. Retrieved 2013-02-06.
  4. 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.
  5. Johnson, Ian (2014-05-29). "Church-State Clash in China Coalesces Around a Toppled Spire". The New York Times.
  6. "传夏宝龙直接下令拆毁教堂 五千基督徒守护". Duowei News. 2014-04-02.
  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 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Zhao Hongzhu		 Communist Party Secretary of Zhejiang
2012–2017		 Succeeded by
Che Jun
Government offices
Preceded by
Zhang Xiaoming		 Director of Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office
2020－		 Incumbent
Preceded by
Lü Zushan		 Governor of Zhejiang
2011–2012		 Succeeded by
Li Qiang
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