Events in the year 2012 in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Incumbents

General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party The general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party () is the head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Since 1989, the CCP general secretary has been the paramount leader o ...

–

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, s ...

(from 15 Nov) *

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

–

Hu Jintao Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese politician who served as the 16–17th general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the 6th president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 2003 to 2013, an ...

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

–

Wen Jiabao Wen Jiabao (born 15 September 1942) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the Premier of the State Council from 2003 to 2013. In his capacity as head of government, Wen was regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic policy ...

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

–

* Vice Premier –

Li Keqiang Li Keqiang (born 1 July 1955) is a Chinese politician who is the outgoing premier of China. An economist by profession, Li is head of China's executive branch as well as one of the leading figures behind China's Financial and Economic Affai ...

* Congress Chairman –

Wu Bangguo Wu Bangguo (born 12 July 1941) is a retired high-ranking politician in the People's Republic of China. He was the Chairman and Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 2003 t ...

* Conference Chairman –

Jia Qinglin Jia Qinglin (; born 13 March 1940) is a retired senior leader of the People's Republic of China and of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He was a member of the CCP's Politburo Standing Committee, the party's highest ruling organ, between ...

Governors

* Governor of Anhui Province – Li Bin * Governor of Fujian Province –

Su Shulin Su Shulin (; born 14 March 1962) is a Chinese oil and gas executive and former politician. Between 2011 and 2015, he served as Governor of Fujian province, on China's eastern coast. Before beginning his political career, Su served as the Vice-Pr ...

* Governor of Gansu Province –

Liu Weiping Liu Weiping (; born May 1953) is a Chinese politician, currently serving as Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He served as Governor of Gansu from 2010 to 2016, and prior to that, Vice-Governor of Qinghai Province and mayor of Na ...

* Governor of Guangdong Province –

Zhu Xiaodan Zhu Xiaodan (; born January 1953) is the Chinese politician who served as Governor of Guangdong from 2011 to 2016. A lifelong Communist functionary, Zhu was appointed Vice Governor of Guangdong in February 2010 and became acting Governor in Novemb ...

* Governor of Guizhou Province –

Zhao Kezhi Zhao Kezhi (; born 28 December 1953) is a Chinese politician who currently serves as a State Councilor of the People’s Republic of China and the former Minister and Party Committee Secretary of the Ministry of Public Security, with the top p ...

(until December), Chen Min'er (starting December) * Governor of Hainan Province –

Jiang Dingzhi Jiang Dingzhi (; born September 1954) is a Chinese politician and current Chairman of the Jiangsu People's Political Consultative Conference (''zhengxie''). He holds a master's degree in Engineering from Nanjing University of Science and Techn ...

* Governor of Hebei Province –

Zhang Qingwei Zhang Qingwei (; born 7 November 1961) is a Chinese politician, business executive, and aerospace engineer who is the current Communist Party Secretary of Hunan, in office since 18 October 2021. He was Communist Party Secretary of Heilongjiang, ...

* Governor of Heilongjiang Province: – Wang Xiankui * Governor of Henan Province –

Guo Gengmao Guo Gengmao (; born December 1950) is a politician of the People's Republic of China. He served as Communist Party Secretary and Governor of Henan Province, as well as Governor of his native Hebei Province. Biography Guo Gengmao was born in Ji ...

* Governor of Hubei Province – Wang Guosheng * Governor of Hunan Province –

Xu Shousheng Xu Shousheng (; 23 January 1953 – 5 December 2020) was a Chinese politician. He was the Communist Party Secretary of Hunan from 2013 to 2016. He served as the Governor of Hunan and Gansu provinces. Biography Xu was born in Rudong County, Jian ...

* Governor of Jiangsu Province –

Li Xueyong Li Xueyong (; born September 1950) is a Chinese politician. He served as Governor of Jiangsu Province from 2010 to 2015. An academic-turned-politician, Li served for many years in the Ministry of Science and Technology. Career Li was born in Sh ...

* Governor of Jiangxi Province –

Lu Xinshe Lu Xinshe (; born November 1956) is a Chinese politician who served as Communist Party Secretary of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region from 2018 to 2021. Prior to becoming Guangxi party chief, he was Governor of Jiangxi from 2011 to 2016, and Comm ...

* Governor of Jilin Province –

Wang Rulin Wang Rulin (; born April 1953) is a Chinese politician and senior regional official. He is serving as Vice-Chairperson of the National People's Congress Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee. From 2014 to 2016, Wang was the Communist Party S ...

(until December),

Bayanqolu Bayanqolu (; born 5 October 1955) is a Chinese politician of Mongol ethnicity. He served as the Communist Party Secretary of Jilin Province from 2014 to 2020 and the Governor of Jilin from 2012 to 2014; Bayanqolu was, at the time of his appointme ...

(starting December) * Governor of Liaoning Province –

Chen Zhenggao Chen Zhenggao (; born March 1952) is a Chinese politician. He is best known for his terms as Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and governor of Liaoning province. Biography Chen was born in Haicheng, Liaoning Province, China. He wa ...

* Governor of Qinghai Province –

Luo Huining Luo Huining (; born 5 October 1954) is a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party who is Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong. A native of Yiwu, Zhejiang, he was previously the Governor, then Party S ...

* Governor of Shaanxi Province – Zhao Zhengyong (until December), Lou Qinjian (starting December) * Governor of Shandong Province – Jiang Daming * Governor of Shanxi Province – Wang Jun (until December), Li Xiaopeng (starting December) * Governor of Sichuan Province –

Jiang Jufeng Jiang Jufeng (; born 1948) is a Chinese politician. He served as the Governor of Sichuan from 2007 to 2013. Jiang was born in 1948 in Zhuji, Zhejiang Province. He graduated from Fudan University in 1982 and the same year joined the Chinese Com ...

* Governor of Yunnan Province:

Li Jiheng Li Jiheng (; born January 1957) is a Chinese politician, who former served as Minister of Civil Affairs. He also is the former Communist Party Secretary of Inner Mongolia, the former Communist Party Chief and Governor of Yunnan province and a f ...

* Governor of Zhejiang Province –

Xia Baolong Xia Baolong (; born 2 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 provi ...

(until December),

Li Qiang Li Qiang (; born 23 July 1959) is a Chinese politician and a senior leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), serving as the second-ranking member of the 20th CCP Politburo Standing Committee, behind CCP general secretary Xi Jinping. From 2 ...

(starting December)

Events

January

* January 15 - 2012 Guangxi cadmium spill * January 17 – Wanggang village rally * January 22 –

Kong Qingdong Kong Qingdong (born September 22, 1964) is a controversial Chinese academic, author, talk show host, and social commentator. Kong is a prominent Chinese media figure, known for his vulgar and often brusque critiques on political issues and vario ...

comment and Early 2012 Hong Kong protests * January 30 –

Ganzhou Ganzhou (), alternately romanized as Kanchow, is a prefecture-level city in the south of Jiangxi province, China, bordering Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, and Hunan to the west. Its administrative seat is at Zhanggong District. Hist ...

Ningdu County Ningdu County () is a county in the southeast of Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China. It is the northernmost county-level division under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Ganzhou. The village of Xiaoyuan in Ningdu County ...

riot with 5000 citizens

February

* February 1 - Guizhentang Pharmaceutical company IPO controversy * February 8 - **

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

public security bureau A Public Security Bureau (PSB) () of a city or county, or Public Security Department (PSD) () of a province or autonomous region, in the People's Republic of China refers to a government office essentially acting as a police station or a local ...

head

Wang Lijun , education = Chinese People's Public Security University , known_for = Chongqing gang trials, Wang Lijun incident , occupation = Vice-mayor of Chongqing; Chongqing police chief; Tieling poli ...

seek political asylum in US consulate. ** Cross-strait language database introduced by both sides of strait. * February 11 - Elections in Wukan following the

Protests of Wukan The Wukan protests (), also known as the Siege of Wukan, was an anti-corruption protest that began in September 2011, and escalated in December 2011 with the expulsion of officials by villagers, the siege of the town by police, and subsequent d� ...

* February 22 - Chinese coast guard opens fire on Vietnamese ships at

Paracel Islands The Paracel Islands, also known as the Xisha Islands () and the Hoang Sa Archipelago ( vi, Quần đảo Hoàng Sa, lit=Yellow Sand Archipelago), are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. The archipelago includes about 130 small coral ...

with no casualties reported. * February 28 - Terrorists kill 15 people in Yecheng,

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

March

* March 1 – ** Guangdong National Language Regulations ** Hong Kong mainland China driving scheme * March 14 - Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Law of the PRC was passed by the

National People's Congress The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. With 2, ...

. * March 15 -

Bo Xilai Bo Xilai (; born 3 July 1949) is a Chinese former politician who was convicted on bribery and embezzlement charges. He came to prominence through his tenures as Mayor of Dalian and then the governor of Liaoning. From 2004 to November 2007, ...

was removed from his post as

Party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...

Secretary.

April

* April 8 – 10 – The

Philippine Navy The Philippine Navy (PN) ( tgl, Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, , Sea Army of the Philippines) ( es, Armada de Filipinas, , Ejército del Mar de las Filipinas) is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an e ...

spotted Chinese fishermen fishing on the disputed

Scarborough Shoal Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc (in Spanish language, Spanish), Panatag Shoal ( fil, Kulumpol ng Panatag, lit=serene cluster), Huangyan Island (Mandarin Chinese, Mandarin zh, c=黄岩岛, p=Huáng Yán Dǎo, l=yellow rock isl ...

and attempted to detain the fishermen on April 10 but was blocked by the Chinese maritime surveillance ship which led to a diplomatic standoff over the shoal and the further severance of Chinese ties with the Philippines. * April 10 - The

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...

suspends the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...

membership of former senior official

, while his wife

Gu Kailai Gu Kailai (born 15 November 1958) is a Chinese former lawyer and businesswoman. She is the second wife of former Politburo member Bo Xilai, one of China's most influential politicians until he was stripped of his offices in 2012. In August 2 ...

is named as a suspect in the murder of a British businessman. * April 19 - In

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

, 13-year-old Chinese Guan Tian-lang becomes the youngest player to compete on the

PGA European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...

when he bogeys at the

Volvo China Open The Volvo China Open is a men's golf tournament that has been held annually in China since 1995. The event is organised by the China Golf Association and has been co-sanctioned by the European Tour since 2004. It has also featured as part of the ...

. * April 28 - Blind

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

human rights activist

Chen Guangcheng Chen Guangcheng (born November 12, 1971) is a Chinese civil rights activist who has worked on human rights issues in rural areas of the People's Republic of China. Blind from an early age and self-taught in the law, Chen is frequently describe ...

– who fled from

house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...

– reportedly takes refuge in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

embassy in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

May

* May 7 -

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

seizes thousands of smuggled capsules from Northeastern

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

filled with powdered

human flesh "Human Flesh" is the first episode and the series premiere of the animated television series ''Bob's Burgers''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 9, 2011. The episode was written by Loren Bouchard and Jim Dau ...

. * May 11 - Chinese scientists use quantum teleportation to transmit

photon A photon () is an elementary particle that is a quantum of the electromagnetic field, including electromagnetic radiation such as light and radio waves, and the force carrier for the electromagnetic force. Photons are massless, so they always ...

s over a distance of – a world record for quantum teleportation. * May 13 - **Torrential rainfall and flooding in

Hunan Province Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi t ...

destroys a bridge and 3,500 homes, leading to the evacuation of 28,000 people in Pingjiang County. ** Chinese security ''tsar'' and

Politburo Standing Committee The Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), officially the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Histori ...

member

Zhou Yongkang Zhou Yongkang (born 3 December 1942) is a former senior leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He was a member of the 17th Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), China's highest decision-making body, and the Secretary of the Central Politic ...

reportedly transfers his security-related duties to Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu, following the Bo Xilai scandal. * May 16 - China Central Television Headquarters in Beijing is completed, a decade after its design by OMA. * May 19 - At least 20 people are killed in an explosion in a road tunnel being constructed in central China. * May 20 - Two women in

Jieyang Jieyang () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong Province (Yuedong), People's Republic of China, part of the Chaoshan region whose people speak Chaoshan Min distinct from neighbouring Yue speakers. It is historically important as the ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

PRC China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, are executed for counterfeiting nearly 300 million yuan RMB.

June

* June 16 – 22 - 4th

Straits Forum The Straits Forum () is an annual forum between Mainland China and Taiwan which started in 2009. It is the largest non-political platform which promotes grassroots interaction, economic and trade exchanges and cultural integration. Forums 1st F ...

* June 24 - China successfully carries out its first manual docking of a spacecraft between the

Shenzhou 9 Shenzhou 9 () was the fourth crewed spacecraft flight of China's Shenzhou program, launched at 18:37:24 CST (10:37:24 UTC), 16 June 2012. Shenzhou 9 was the second spacecraft and first crewed mission and expedition to dock with the Tiangong-1 ...

capsule and

Tiangong-1 Tiangong-1 () was China's first prototype space station. It orbited Earth from September 2011 to April 2018, serving as both a crewed laboratory and an experimental testbed to demonstrate orbital rendezvous and docking capabilities during its ...

station. * June 29 - Tianjin Airlines Flight GS7554 from

Hotan Airport Hotan Airport or Hotan Aerodrome ( ug, خوتەن ئايرودرومى, Xotən ayrodromi; zh, c = 和田机场, p = Hétián Jīchǎng) is an airport serving Hotan, a city in the autonomous region of Xinjiang in China. Facilities The airp ...

, Embraer E-190, to

Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport is an airport serving Ürümqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwestern China. It is located in Diwopu township of Xinshi district, northwest of downtown Ürümqi. A hub for C ...

, passengers and crew members thwart an attempt to hijack a plane in the western Chinese province of Xinjiang, local authorities say. * June 30 - Fire breaks out in a mall in

Ji County, Tianjin Jizhou District (), formerly a county known as Ji County, is a district in the far north of the municipality of Tianjin, People's Republic of China, holding cultural and historical significance (''e.g''., the Buddhist Temple of Solitary Joy). O ...

, killing 10 people, all of which are female. Many netizens accuse the authority of a cover-up and believe, based on unconfirmed reports, that hundreds may have perished during the fire.

July

* July 21 -

Flash flooding A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing o ...

and northern

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...

kills 79 people in the worst-ever storm to hit the Beijing area.

August

* August 19 - Massive anti-Japanese protest takes place in many Chinese cities, following the landings of several

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

and Japanese activists on the

disputed Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...

Senkaku Islands.

September

* September 7 - Twin earthquake on the border between

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

and

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...

kills at least 81 people, mostly in Yiliang,

Zhaotong Zhaotong () is a prefecture-level city located in the northeast corner of Yunnan province, China, bordering the provinces of Guizhou to the south and southeast and Sichuan to the northeast, north, and west. History Zhaotong has historic and ...

. * September 15 – 19 - Second wave of anti-Japanese protests erupts in at least 19 cities in China.

re-appears after a two-week absence.

October

* October 4 - Landslide buries at least 19 people in the Southwestern province of

November

* November 8 – 14 - The 18th National Congress of Chinese Communist Party is held in the

Great Hall of the People The Great Hall of the People is a state building located at the western edge of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. It is used for legislative and ceremonial activities by the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the ruling Chinese Co ...

in Beijing. On November 15,

is chosen as the new

. He now also leads the Central Military Commission after

hands over the chairmanship to Xi.

December

* December 14 **23 children and an elderly woman were injured during a stabbing incident. **SM City Chongqing, the sixth SM Mall in the Chinese mainland was opened.

References

{{Asia topic, 2012 in Years of the 21st century in China