Chen Quanguo

Military and university

Chen Quanguo is a native of Pingyu County in Zhumadian prefecture, Henan province. In December 1973, at the age of 18, Chen enlisted in the People's Liberation Army. He joined the Communist Party of China in February 1976.^[5] After leaving the military in March 1977, he briefly worked at a car parts factory in Zhumadian.^[6][7]

After China resumed the National Higher Education Entrance Examination which was interrupted during the Cultural Revolution, in March 1978 Chen was admitted to the Economics Department of Zhengzhou University in the provincial capital Zhengzhou.^[6][7]

Henan

Chen Quanguo graduated from Zhengzhou University in December 1981 and returned to work in his hometown of Pingyu. Starting in 1983 he worked for the prefectural government of Zhumadian, and in 1988 became the Communist Party Secretary of Suiping, a county under the administration of Zhumadian. In 1994 he was appointed the head of the Organization Department of the nearby prefecture-level city of Pingdingshan.^[2][6][7]

From 1995 to 1997 Chen enrolled as a part-time student at the School of Business Administration of Wuhan University of Technology, obtaining a master's degree in economics. From 1996 to 1998 he served as the Mayor and Deputy Party Secretary of Luohe, another prefecture-level city in Henan.^[2][6][7]

Chen Quanguo was promoted to Vice-Governor of Henan Province in January 1998, and worked in the administration of then Henan Governor Li Keqiang. Chen then became head of the provincial Organization Department in November 2000, and Deputy Communist Party Secretary in April 2003.^[2][6][7]

Hebei

In November 2009 Chen Quanguo was transferred to neighbouring Hebei and promoted to Acting Governor and Deputy Party Secretary of the province. He replaced Hu Chunhua, who became the Party Secretary of Inner Mongolia. In January 2010 he was officially elected by the provincial congress as Governor of Hebei.^[2][6][7]

Tibet

In August 2011 Chen was transferred and promoted again, this time to remote Tibet Autonomous Region as Party Secretary, the top official of the region. He replaced Zhang Qingli, who became the Party Secretary of Hebei.^[2][6][7] Subordinate to Chen was the Chairman (governor) of Tibet, Padma Choling, who was replaced by Losang Jamcan in January 2013.^[1]

Shortly after taking up his position August 2011, Chen implemented a new security policy for Tibet in the form of "convenience police stations" (便民警务站).^[3] This divided urban centers into grids, allowing the authorities systematically observe all activities within the area.^[8] As of early 2016, more than 700 of these police stations exist throughout urban centers across Tibet.^[9]

Xinjiang

Chen became the Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang in August 2016, replacing Zhang Chunxian. Upon taking office in Xinjiang, Chen became the first senior official in the history of the People's Republic to have occupied the top posts of both Xinjiang and Tibet. Chen's appointment was believed to be part of a broader strategy by the leadership of the Communist Party to entrust officials experienced in administering ethnically diverse border regions. It also signalled that Chen was a promising candidate for the 19th Politburo of the Communist Party of China, to be installed in the autumn of 2017, as the party chief position in Xinjiang ordinarily held a seat on the Politburo.^[10]

Under his rule as Xinjiang Party Secretary, Chen promoted the recruitment of the local population into the police force.^[11] He started repression against Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other minorities in Xinjiang.^{[12] [13]}

Since Chen Quanguo was transferred from Tibet to govern Xinjiang in August 2016, he has overseen the construction of a network of extrajudicial internment camps. He has also stepped up surveillance of residents by using advanced technology as well as increasing police presence, and passed severe regulations to curtail religious and cultural expression. According to estimates by rights groups, researchers, and United Nations human rights experts, at least hundreds of thousands – or possibly two million members of ethnic minorities – many of them ethnic Uyghurs and Kazakhs, are currently being held in "re-education" camps in the region.^{[14] [15]}

Chen Quanguo is a member of the 19th Politburo of the Communist Party of China. He was previously an alternate member of the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and a full member of the 18th Central Committee.^[2][6][7]