86: Chapter 85 Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee (Part Three)

With the passage of the proposal by the Jiangnan Provincial Party Committee's Office of the Special Campaign to Sweep Away Black and Evil, Secretary Lao Liguo leaned back, his spine pressing against the wide leather back of his chair.

He opened the next agenda document in front of him. With his dominance established, the meeting proceeded to the next item.

This was also the highlight that the entire province's officialdom was watching closely: personnel appointments and removals.

"Running water never goes stale, and a door hinge never gets worm-eaten. The building of our cadre echelon emphasizes the ability to rise and fall, as well as job rotations." Secretary Lao Liguo folded his hands on the table.

"A minority of cadres in our ranks have served in a single position for too long. Staying in one place for a long time inevitably leads to rigid thinking, and blind spots easily develop in their approach to work."

"According to the relevant regulations of the Cadre Appointment Rules, a chief official who has served a full term in a municipality or department should undergo moderate adjustment. This is both a protection for the cadre themselves and a responsibility toward the long-term development of the local area."

Having set the general tone, Secretary Lao Liguo turned his head.

"Comrade Dingyu, have the Organization Department report the list of cadres proposed for adjustment this time."

Minister Xiao Dingyu opened the folder in front of him.

"After evaluation and analysis by the Provincial Organization Department," Minister Xiao Dingyu read from the document, "it is proposed to remove Comrade Tian Limin from his posts as Secretary, Standing Committee Member, and Member of the CPC Linjiang Municipal Party Committee, with another appointment to be determined."

"It is proposed to promote Comrade Lin Weimin to serve as Member, Standing Committee Member, and Secretary of the CPC Linjiang Municipal Party Committee. Comrade Lin Weimin currently serves as Deputy Director of the Provincial Party Committee Office, possessing rich experience in macro-level coordination and institutional management, with excellent political quality..."

A brief introduction to Secretary Lin Weimin's resume was completed.

Minister Xiao Dingyu did not pause. He turned the page and continued reading.

"In addition, the post of Executive Vice Mayor of Linjiang City has always been concurrently held by Comrade Secretary Zhu Tianhe, Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee. Considering the heavy pressure on the Linjiang Municipal Party Committee to coordinate party and mass work, and to lighten Comrade Tianhe's burden, the Linjiang Municipal Party Committee has submitted a new personnel recommendation plan."

"The Linjiang Municipal Party Committee recommends the current Secretary of the High-tech Zone Party Working Committee, Comrade Standing Committee Member Zhang Zhiqiang, to take over as Executive Vice Mayor. Comrade Standing Committee Member Zhang Zhiqiang has worked deeply at the grassroots level for many years and is familiar with the local situation in Linjiang..."

"At the same time," Minister Xiao Dingyu raised his voice, "Secretary Yang recommends that Comrade Executive Vice Mayor Han Qiming of the Provincial State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission be transferred to serve as Standing Committee Member of the Linjiang Municipal Party Committee and Executive Vice Mayor. Comrade Executive Vice Mayor Han Qiming has made significant achievements in state-owned assets management and economic system reform..."

Two resumes and two completely different candidates were laid side by side on the table of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee meeting.

Having finished reading, Minister Xiao Dingyu closed the folder and sat upright in his seat.

Secretary Lao Liguo took back control of the floor, his gaze directed straight at Deputy Secretary Yang Jianhua.

"Comrade Jianhua, you are in charge of the province's party-mass relations and cadre personnel. Share your thoughts on this adjustment plan for Linjiang City's leadership team."

Deputy Secretary Yang Jianhua took off the reading glasses on the bridge of his nose, pulled out a piece of flannel, and wiped them slowly.

He put the glasses back into their case and pressed both hands against the edge of the conference table.

"Since Secretary Lao has called on me, I will report some of my personal views. I mentioned some opinions during this morning's Five-Person Group meeting, and now I will elaborate on them in detail for all the standing committee members."

Deputy Secretary Yang Jianhua spoke very slowly, emphasizing every word.

"Regarding the proposal to remove Comrade Secretary Tian Limin from his post and replace him with Secretary Lin Weimin, I have reservations."

"As all the standing committee members know, Linjiang City's former mayor, Former Mayor Xiao Tianyou, fell from grace due to serious violations of discipline. This major case is currently undergoing judicial proceedings, which has brought tremendous shock to the local cadre ranks in Linjiang."

"The new mayor, Comrade Mayor Su Changming, has only been in office for a few months, and the government's affairs have just begun to be sorted out."

"At this critical juncture, if we replace the chief of the Municipal Party Committee as well, it would mean that both the party and government chiefs of Linjiang City will have been completely replaced within a year. This commits a cardinal military sin."

"When recovering from a serious illness, strong medicine is most to be avoided. We should wait for the Linjiang Municipal Party Committee leadership team to run smoothly for a cycle and digest the aftershocks of the Former Mayor Xiao Tianyou case before discussing adjustments. Acting in too much haste could easily cause widespread paralysis in grassroots work."

"Secondly, I have doubts about Comrade Secretary Lin Weimin's resume."

"It is true that Deputy Director Lin has done an outstanding job in the Provincial Party Committee Office. However, being the chief steward of an organization and being sent down to the local level as a high-ranking local official are two completely different logical systems."

"Comrade Secretary Lin Weimin lacks practical experience in governing a region. Linjiang City is an economic powerhouse of our Jiangnan Province, with a massive volume and complex conflicts. Placing a comrade who has not been tempered as the chief of both county and municipal levels directly at the helm of Linjiang—can he navigate such a complex situation? This requires a massive question mark."

Deputy Secretary Yang Jianhua's fire did not stop there; instead, he turned to another vital point.

"Regarding the candidate for Executive Vice Mayor, why did I reject the Linjiang Municipal Party Committee's proposal? The data does not lie."

"During Comrade Standing Committee Member Zhang Zhiqiang's tenure in the High-tech Zone, several core economic indicators stagnated, and the implementation rate of investment attraction projects ranked at the bottom among parks of the same level across the province."

"The Executive Vice Mayor is a core member of the Municipal Government's economic management team. For Linjiang to develop, we must promote expert-type cadres who understand macroeconomics and capital operations. Comrade Executive Vice Mayor Han Qiming from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission has an excellent resume and outstanding ability; he is precisely the specialized talent Linjiang City urgently needs."

Deputy Secretary Yang Jianhua talked on and on, wanting to steer the topic toward the Organization Department's lax vetting process.

However, during the gap when Deputy Secretary Yang paused to catch his breath, Secretary Lao Liguo cut him off directly.

"Comrade Jianhua's considerations are very pertinent and stem from an attitude of being responsible for Linjiang's development."

Secretary Lao Liguo first offered affirmation, then dismantled the arguments point by point.

"As for the concerns about the shake-up of Linjiang's leadership team, I think they are entirely unnecessary. Comrade Mayor Su Changming was not transferred from the outside; he worked deeply as the Deputy Secretary of the Linjiang Municipal Party Committee for many years and knows the subordinate cadres and the overall situation inside out. With him there, the Municipal Government's work will not fall into chaos."

"As for Comrade Secretary Tian Limin, his term of office has reached the policy red line. The rotation of cadres is a rigid regulation; we cannot treat the rules like child's play just because the local mayor was recently adjusted. Once an exception is made to the rules, it will be impossible to lead the team in the future."

Secretary Lao Liguo leaned forward slightly and raised his voice.

"Regarding the doubts about Comrade Secretary Lin Weimin's lack of experience. Comrades, in training cadres, we must dare to give them heavy burdens. Secretary Lin Weimin has coordinated the overall situation of the province in the Provincial Party Committee Office, possessing a broad vision and an extremely high standing. We have seen many grassroots cadres who lack coordination experience, but when office backbones with global thinking are sent to local levels, they can often break the vicious cycle of entrenched local interests. In my view, Comrade Secretary Lin Weimin going to Linjiang is perfectly timed!"

Secretary Lao Liguo acted resolutely and directly proceeded to the voting process.

"Those in favor of the proposal to transfer Comrade Secretary Lin Weimin to serve as Secretary of the Linjiang Municipal Party Committee, please raise your hands."

Secretary Lao Liguo was the first to raise his right hand.

Secretary Chen of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Secretary-General Zhao Rui of the Provincial Party Committee followed suit, raising their hands without the slightest hesitation.

Minister Xiao Dingyu raised his right hand according to the established plan.

Four votes.

The air in the conference room seemed to be sucked out.

Secretary Lao Liguo's gaze crossed the long table and was cast straight toward Secretary Gao Zhiyuan of the Jingjiang Municipal Party Committee.

This was the crucial vote he had secretly agreed upon long ago.

Secretary Gao Zhiyuan sat in his original place.

He kept his head down, his gaze locked tightly onto the open black notebook in front of him. In his hand, he held a Parker fountain pen, its tip mechanically drawing concentric circles on the page one after another.

He did not look up.

He did not raise his hand.

He turned a blind eye to Secretary Lao Liguo's gaze.

Governor Zhou Zhiwen and Deputy Secretary Yang Jianhua exchanged a glance. Both picked up their teacups, slowly brushing the tea leaves aside, and spoke no more.

Time ticked away second by second.

Neutral standing committee members, such as the Publicity Department Director and the United Front Work Department Director, kept their hands flat on the table, watching the direction of the wind in this high-level struggle.

As long as Secretary Gao Zhiyuan did not state his stance, they would never easily take a side.

A deathly stalemate fell over the conference room.

More than a dozen pairs of eyes were all focused on the Secretary of the Jingjiang Municipal Party Committee, who was drawing circles with his head down.

Only the rustling sound of the pen tip rubbing against the paper remained.