Li Lianyu (; born December 1959) is a former Chinese politician who spent most of his career in
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
province. Through his career he successively served as the
Communist Party Secretary
A Party Committee Secretary () is the leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organization in a province, city, village, or other administrative unit. In most cases, it is the ''de facto'' highest political office of its area of jurisdictio ...
of the
county-level city
A county-level municipality (), county-level city or county city, formerly known as prefecture-controlled city (1949–1970: ; 1970–1983: ), is a Administrative divisions of China#County level (3rd), county-level administrative divi ...
of
Pizhou
Pizhou () is a county-level city under the administration of Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, China. As of 2006 it had a population of 163,000; it borders the Shandong prefecture-level cities of Linyi to the northeast and Zaozhuang to the northwest.
His ...
, the Vice-Mayor of
Xuzhou
Xuzhou (徐州), also known as Pengcheng (彭城) in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area ma ...
, and Deputy Communist Party Secretary of the
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture ( kk, Іле Қазақ автономиялық облысы) (also as Yili) is an autonomous prefecture for Kazakh people in Northern Xinjiang, China, one of five autonomous prefectures in Xinjiang. Yining City ...
, in
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 ...
. He was removed from office in September 2014, and was investigated by the Chinese Communist Party's anti-graft agency in November 2014.
Li was known nationally for the massive "red carpet reception" held for him when he returned to his hometown after attending the
17th Party Congress in 2007. Thousands of locals lined the city's streets to receive the Secretary. The event drew significant ridicule and criticism for its unnecessary extravagance and what seemed to be a local
cult of personality
A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create an id ...
.
Early career
Li was born and raised in
Feng County,
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
. Li began his political career in August 1975, and joined 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 ...
in February 1985.
In August 1975, Li was appointed as an official in Xuzhou Coal Mining Bureau and over a period of eight years worked his way up to the position of Deputy Secretary of the
Communist Youth League
The Communist Youth League of China (CYLC), also known as the Young Communist League of China or simply the Communist Youth League (CYL), is a youth movement of the People's Republic of China for youth between the ages of 14 and 28, run by the ...
of Feng County. He then spent six years serving in various political roles at the Organization Department of CCP Feng County Committee, before serving as
CCP Party Chief of Dahe Town.
In December 1998 he was promoted to become the Vice-County Governor of Feng County, a position he held until December 2000. He entered the College of Humanities of
Nanjing University of Science and Technology
The Nanjing University of Science and Technology (), colloquially NJUST (), is one of the National Key Universities under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China. It is a science-oriented university located in Xuanwu Distri ...
in September 1998 as a part-time student. There he studied political theory; he graduated in November 2000.
17th Party Congress incident
He became the Mayor of
Pizhou
Pizhou () is a county-level city under the administration of Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, China. As of 2006 it had a population of 163,000; it borders the Shandong prefecture-level cities of Linyi to the northeast and Zaozhuang to the northwest.
His ...
, a county-level city under the jurisdiction of
Xuzhou
Xuzhou (徐州), also known as Pengcheng (彭城) in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area ma ...
, in December 2000, and then the Communist Party Secretary, the top political position in the city, beginning in December 2002. By 2006, Li further elevated to the concurrent post of the Vice-Mayor of Xuzhou.
[
In 2007, Li was selected as a local delegate to the 17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, an event that occurs once every five years. A total of 2,213 delegates attended the Congress. Upon returning to Pizhou after attending the Party Congress, thousands of city residents from all walks of life, including the local paramilitary forces, soldiers, officials, nurses, students, and ordinary farmers, mobilized to greet his 'victorious return' in an unprecedented display, including a full "red carpet reception".][
Images of the event quickly went viral around the Chinese internet. They included depictions of Li shaking hands with ordinary people who lined the streets to greet him, a giant red banner hoisted that read "Our most heartfelt welcome for the victorious return of Secretary Li Lianyu from Beijing!", various ]lion dance F
Lion dance () is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture and other Asian countries in which performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume to bring good luck and fortune. The lion dance is usually performed during the Chinese New ...
rs and live fireworks. The fact that such a high-profile ceremony was planned for a county-level official for simply coming back to town after a party congress was ridiculed and heavily criticized online. In response, the city officials responded that the reception ceremony was planned by Pizhou residents; they also pointed out that no other county-level official in Northern Jiangsu had earned the distinction of being a delegate to the Congress.[ According to Pizhou officials, Li was the first Pizhou resident to become a delegate to the National Congress of the Communist Party since the party organization was founded in the county in 1928, asserting that this brought great pride to the people of Pizhou and was a cause worthy for "celebration". Prior to his departure for the Congress, high-profile receptions were held at 4-star hotels in the city to "send off" the Secretary.]
Leading Pizhou
After the incident, Li was dubbed pejoratively by some Chinese-language media as the "Red Carpet Secretary" and the "most ''niu'' Secretary" in China (roughly translates to "most kick-ass Secretary").[ In the face of national criticism, Li returned to work with a lower profile, generally avoided the media, and was given less 'face time' in local television stations. Li reputedly held his subordinates to very high standards. According to one local official, Li told them, "I work ten hours a day, you all should be working 16 hours a day. If you don't like it, then leave."][ The local official also said that Li called meetings on demand, and subordinates were expected to simply show up regardless of which hour of the day it was. The turnover of local government staff was high; Li routinely shuffled his rank and file. Li reportedly had say in the transfer and promotion of even ordinary office staff.][
Li's supporters point to his various achievements in Pizhou. They assert that Li presided over a time of almost uninterrupted economic growth in Pizhou, making the county stand out in relation to other counties in the relatively stagnant northern Jiangsu region. The county-level city quickly moved up the ranks in the province for its economic and social indicators, was the top-performing county-level jurisdiction in Xuzhou by "comprehensive indicators" (''zonghe shili''), and even entered the ranks of the "top 100 counties in China".][
During Li's ten-year tenure in the city, his government reportedly spent some 12 million yuan (~$1.96 million) to hire a Peking University architecture professor to oversee the redesign of the entire city core. Within the city core, a large and elaborate government complex was constructed modeled on classical ''Chuyun Hanfeng'' () style architecture.][ The imposing and elaborate nature of the complex has elicited comparisons with ]Zhongnanhai
Zhongnanhai () is a former imperial garden in the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City, Beijing, adjacent to the Forbidden City; it serves as the central headquarters for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the State Council of the People' ...
, the residential compound of China's leaders. Li's government also spent some 70 million yuan ($11.42 million) for the ''Ruyi Avenue'' project, a giant axial thoroughfare through the city that was decorated with 9,999 lotus flowers, and reputed to be the longest ''Hanbaiyu'' (a form of alabaster
Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft, often used for carving, and is processed for plaster powder. Archaeologists and the stone processing industry use the word differently from geologists. The former use it in a wider sense that includes ...
) road in the world. A giant water fountain that could reach a height of 100 meters was also constructed.[ While some residents criticized these projects as needlessly extravagant, Li's supporters believed that the projects increased the prestige and image of Pizhou and played a role in attracting further investment into the city. They also asserted that these projects were mostly completed without much cost to the local taxpayer.][
]
Villagers violence incident
On January 7, 2010, local villagers were involved in a mass altercation during a protest against land surveyors who were surveying local farmland for development projects. The violence resulted in the death of one villager and the serious injury of another.[ Various city officials passed by the scene of the violence but reportedly did not intervene, and did not further address the issue. Both Li Lianyu and the mayor (second highest official) of Pizhou were removed from office as a result of the fallout from the scandal.][ Li, however, retained his position as Vice-Mayor of Xuzhou; his dismissal, in practice, meant that he would become a 'full-time' vice mayor working in Xuzhou.][ On April 11, a crowd that had earlier caught wind of Li's departure gathered at Li's office in an attempt to prevent him from leaving. The crowd consisted mainly of transient city contractors who were promised permanent positions in return for the city government's planned privatization of a formerly state-owned enterprise. They feared that if Li were to depart without bringing the matter to a close, they would soon lose their jobs and livelihoods. Li was able to get past the crowd and departed for Xuzhou shortly thereafter.][
]
Investigation
Li was transferred to the far west region of Xinjiang as part of an 'aid the frontier' campaign led by the Jiangsu provincial government. He served as the Deputy Party Secretary of the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture ( kk, Іле Қазақ автономиялық облысы) (also as Yili) is an autonomous prefecture for Kazakh people in Northern Xinjiang, China, one of five autonomous prefectures in Xinjiang. Yining City ...
between August 2013 to September 2014.
In September 2014, a party disciplinary working group commissioned by Beijing was dispatched to Jiangsu to conduct anti-corruption work. The group reportedly received many complaints about Li Lianyu. Li was soon removed from office. On November 15, 2014, it was publicly announced that he would be undergoing investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) is the highest internal control institution of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), tasked with enforcing internal rules and regulations and combating corruption and malfeasance in the par ...
for "serious violations of laws and regulations".
On February 15, 2017, he was expelled from 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 ...
(CCP) and removed from public office. On August 11, he received a sentence of 8 years in prison and fine of 300,000 yuan for taking bribes and abusing his power by the Yangzhou Intermediate People's Court. All his illegal gains will be confiscated and handed over to the State.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Lianyu
1959 births
Politicians from Xuzhou
Living people
Political office-holders in Jiangsu
Nanjing University of Science and Technology alumni
People's Republic of China politicians from Jiangsu
Chinese Communist Party politicians from Jiangsu
People from Feng County, Jiangsu