Wang Zhengwei (,
Xiao'erjing
Xiao'erjing or Xiao'erjin or Xiaor jin or in its shortened form, Xiaojing, literally meaning "children's script" or "minor script" (cf. "original script" referring to the original Perso-Arabic script; zh, s=本经, t=本經, p=Běnjīng, Xiao ...
: ; born June 1957) is a Chinese politician, economist, and expert on Islamic affairs. Of
Hui
The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the n ...
ethnic heritage, Wang served as the Chairman of the
State Ethnic Affairs Commission
The National Ethnic Affairs Commission is a cabinet-level executive department of the State Council of the People's Republic of China under the formal leadership of the United Front Work Department that is responsible for relations between ...
between 2013 and 2016, and Chairman (Governor) of the
Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region
Ningxia (,; , ; alternately romanized as Ninghsia), officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), is an autonomous region in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in 1 ...
between 2007 and 2013. He is currently a Vice-Chairman of the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...
.
Biography
Wang was born in
Tongxin County
Tongxin County (, Xiao'erjing: طْوثٍ ثِيًا) is a county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Wuzhong in the central part of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, bordering Gansu province ...
, Ningxia, to a
Hui Chinese
The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the n ...
family. After graduating from university, he went back to his hometown to work as an accountant and as a local Communist Youth League organizer. After the Cultural Revolution, he worked on hydraulics projects for a year. He entered
Ningxia University
Ningxia University () is a public university located in Yinchuan, China. It is co-administrated by Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China. It is a member of the former Project 211 and a Chinese s ...
in 1977 and majored in Chinese. He joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1981.
After graduating, he became a propaganda official, serving in his home county. In January 1984 he was sent to work for the autonomous region's party organization in Yinchuan, where he climbed through the ranks with a series of administrative and research positions. He eventually was promoted the head the regional propaganda department and entered the
regional party standing committee as a result. He also served as party chief of Yinchuan.
Wang was long involved in Hui ethnic affairs, and has written many papers on the economy and culture of the Hui people. In 1988 he was sent as part of a delegation to Turkey to participate in an international Islamic culture conference. Wang made a name for himself as a resident expert in the economy of predominantly Islamic states, conducting extensive research on middle eastern countries.
In September 2000, Wang was admitted into the Ethnic Affairs Institute of the
Minzu University of China
Minzu University of China (MUC, ) is a national public university in Haidian District, Beijing, China designated for ethnic minorities in China.
MUC was selected as one of national key universities to directly receive funding from Double First ...
where he earned a doctorate studying the economic structure of Muslim countries. The
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
reported, in February 2019, that Wang had plagiarised 17 paragraphs from a prior academic work in his doctoral thesis presented in 2003 to the university.
In 2004, Wang became Executive Vice Chairman of the Ningxia regional government, and on May 12, 2007 was named acting chairman of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, confirmed in January 2008.
After the
12th National People's Congress
The 12th National People's Congress was elected in national congressional conferences from October 2012 to February 2013 and was in session from 2013 to 2018. It succeeded the 11th National People's Congress. It held five plenary sessions in ...
in 2013, Wang was appointed to head the
State Ethnic Affairs Commission
The National Ethnic Affairs Commission is a cabinet-level executive department of the State Council of the People's Republic of China under the formal leadership of the United Front Work Department that is responsible for relations between ...
. During this time he had been pushing for legislation concerning
halal
''Halal'' (; ar, حلال, ) is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible" in English. In the Quran, the word ''halal'' is contrasted with ''haram'' (forbidden). This binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification kno ...
certification. He was also named a Vice-Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, ascending to sub-national ranks. On April 2, 2015, Wang was named deputy head of the
United Front Work Department
The United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (UFWD; ) is a department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) which is officially tasked with "united front work". For this endeavo ...
, creating an unprecedented situation where two leaders of the department (alongside
Sun Chunlan
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
) were of sub-national rank.
Wang is an alternate member of the
16th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party The 16th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party was in session from 2002 to 2007. It held seven plenary sessions. It was set in motion by the 16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. The 15th Central Committee preceded it. ...
(elevated to full membership during the 4th conference of the committee), and a full member of the
17th and
18th Central Committees. He is also the chairman of Ningxia Social Science Association, a member of the Chinese Ethnic Writers Association and a member of the Ningxia Writers Association.
In 2022, As part of Xi Jinping’s ethnic assimilation policy, the Chinese Communist Party authorized a corruption inquiry into Wang Zhengwei. The investigation was initiated because party officials felt that Wang had promoted “unrestrained Muslim culture” while in office. This included "promoting certification of halal foods" and encouraging "the building of mosques on a relatively grand scale".
References
External links
*
Wang Zhengwei's profile at people.com.cn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Zhengwei
1957 births
Living people
Hui people
People from Wuzhong
Ningxia University alumni
People's Republic of China politicians from Ningxia
Political office-holders in Ningxia
Chinese Communist Party politicians from Ningxia
Vice Chairpersons of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference