Lian was born in Jintan, Jiangsu Province. She studied ideological and political education management at the Department of Political Education of Nanjing Normal University from 1989 to 1993. She later pursued graduate studies in political science at the Central Party School from 1996 to 1999. Lian joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in January 1993 and began working in August the same year as a teacher at the Jintan Municipal Party School. She briefly served as assistant director of the Jintan Economic System Reform Committee during a period of secondment.[2]
From 1995 to 1999, she served as Deputy Secretary and then Secretary of the Jintan Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League. She subsequently became Deputy Secretary and then Secretary of the Changzhou Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League. From 2003 to 2008, she held senior positions in the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League, including Vice Secretary and then Secretary, and also served as Chair of the Jiangsu Youth Federation.[3][4]
In 2006, Lian was appointed to the Standing Committee of the Xuzhou Municipal CCP Committee and served as Minister of the Organization Department. In 2011, she became Deputy Secretary of the Huai'an Municipal CCP Committee. From 2017 to 2018, she served as Deputy Minister of the United Front Work Department of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and as Party Secretary and Vice President of the Jiangsu Provincial Institute of Socialism. She concurrently served as Vice Chair of the Provincial Committee on Culture and History of the Jiangsu CPPCC. Since March 2018, she has served as Director of both the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Jiangsu Provincial CCP Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Jiangsu Provincial Government.[5]
Lian is a delegate to the 14th National People's Congress, and has served as a representative to the 15th and 16th National Congresses of the Communist Youth League. She has been a member of the 14th Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the CCP, a standing member of the 13th Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and a member of the 11th Jiangsu Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee.[6]