Li Lianyu

Li was born and raised in Feng County, Jiangsu. Li began his political career in August 1975, and joined the Chinese Communist Party 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 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 in September 1998 as a part-time student. There he studied political theory; he graduated in November 2000.^[4]

He became the Mayor of Pizhou, a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Xuzhou, in December 2000, and then the Communist Party Secretary, the top political position in the city, beginning in December 2002. By 2006, Li further was elevated to the concurrent post of the Vice-Mayor of Xuzhou.^[4]

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,^[5] including a full "red carpet reception".^[6]

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 dancers and live fireworks.^[7] 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.^[8] 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.^[6] 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 of "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.^[6]

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").^[7] 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."^[8] 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.^[8]

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".^[7]

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 (楚韵汉风) style architecture.^[8] The imposing and elaborate nature of the complex has elicited comparisons with Zhongnanhai, 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) road in the world. A giant water fountain that could reach a height of 100 meters was also constructed.^[8] 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.^[8]