Jia Chunwang
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Jia Chunwang | |
|---|---|
贾春旺 | |
 Jia at a meeting with Italian president Oscar Luigi Scalfaro in 1992 | |
| Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate | |
| In office 7 March 2003 – 5 March 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Han Zhubin |
| Succeeded by | Cao Jianming |
| Minister of Public Security | |
| In office 19 March 1998 – 28 December 2002 | |
| Premier | Zhu Rongji |
| Preceded by | Tao Siju |
| Succeeded by | Zhou Yongkang |
| Minister of State Security | |
| In office 1 September 1985 – 1 March 1998 | |
| Premier | Li Peng |
| Preceded by | Ling Yun |
| Succeeded by | Xu Yongyue |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 1938 (age 87) |
| Party | Chinese Communist Party |
| Spouse | Yu Jingzhi |
| Education | Beijing No. 8 High School |
| Alma mater | Tsinghua University |
Jia Chunwang (simplified Chinese: 贾春旺; traditional Chinese: 賈春旺; pinyin: Jiǎ Chūnwàng; born May 1938) is a Chinese politician, intelligence officer, and prosecutor who held top positions in both the security apparatus and judiciary of the People's Republic of China.[1] He served as Minister of State Security for 13 years (1985–1998), as Minister of Public Security (1998–2002) and finally as the procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (2003–2008).
The longest-serving Minister of State Security to date, he is also regarded as the most influential, greatly expanding the size, budget and capabilities of the MSS during a pivotal time, which saw tactical collaboration with the American Central Intelligence Agency in arming, training and funding Afghan guerrillas against the Soviets, the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, the end of the Cold War and the subsequent establishment of good relations with Russia, and the handover of Hong Kong from British to Chinese control.[2][3]
Jia, a native of Beijing, was born in May 1938 and studied at Tsinghua University, graduating with a degree in nuclear physics.[1] He joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1962, and in 1964 he began teaching physics at Tsinghua University, while at the same time being active in the Communist Party branch within the university, called being a "double-load cadre".[1][2] In some foreign newspaper articles during the 1980s and 1990s, he was incorrectly referred to as an engineer; for example, in 1991 the New York Times described him thus: "the nation's spymaster, Jia Chunwang, who is Minister of State Security, is a 53-year-old English-speaking engineer".[4] This confusion derived from the fact that the Tsinghua faculty from which Jia graduated was called the "Department of Engineering Physics", although Jia actually completed the nuclear physics program.
In 1966, at the start of the Cultural Revolution, he was attacked and beaten up by Red Guards, dismissed from the university, and sent to work in rural farms.[1] In 1972 he returned to Tsinghua and became a professor of physics, as well as secretary of the university's Communist Youth League.[2] In 1983 Jia was one of the young officials chosen for senior positions when Deng sidelined older cadre. His prospects improved when he became an acolyte of vice premier Qiao Shi. He steadily rose within the Communist Party and was eventually named Party Secretary of Beijing's Haidian District. In 1984, he became Secretary of the Beijing branch of the powerful Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Party's internal watchdog.[1]
In 1985, he was appointed Minister of State Security, thus overseeing China's most important intelligence and security agency, responsible for foreign intelligence, counter-intelligence and regime protection. He remained on this post for 13 years, until 1998, the longest tenure in the Ministry's history so far.[1] In 1998, he was moved to the Ministry of Public Security (supervising regular police and security forces) where he remained until 2002, while also being named Political Commissar of the People's Armed Police.[1]
Finally, he served as deputy procurator–general (2002–2003) and procurator–general (2003–2008) of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, thus being China's highest-ranked prosecutor.[1] In 2006, he was elected President of the International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities.[1]
Jia was described as low-key and self-effacing; his wife, Yu Jingzhi, is also a professor at Tsinghua University.[1]
Jia Chunwang was a member of the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th Communist Party Central Committees, from 1987 to 2007.[citation needed]
Afghanistan
As Minister of State Security, Jia Chunwang continued and expanded the close collaboration with the American CIA and with Pakistan in training Afghan guerrillas against the Soviets. Beginning in February 1980, Chinese intelligence, led at the time by Luo Qingchang, had started offering small arms and financial support to Afghan resistance groups. From 1980 to 1984 the cost of Chinese support totaled approximately $400 million.[3] When Jia Chunwang became head of the MSS, support expanded to include heavy machine guns, mortars, recoilless rifles, rocket launchers and anti-aircraft artillery; the MSS, in collaboration with the Intelligence Bureau of the PLA General Staff, provided these weapons to a number of Afghan resistance groups established by the Chinese themselves, including "Victory", "Guards", "Immortal Flame" and "Paikar".[3] The Afghans were trained in two networks of secret military camps, both in Xinjiang; one network of camps was in the vicinity of Kashgar, the other in the vicinity of Hotan.[3] Hundreds of Chinese advisers also worked in Pakistani training camps, along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.[3]
