53 Notable alumni of
Renmin University of China
Updated:
The Renmin University of China is 607th in the world, 118th in Asia, and 11th in China by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 53 notable alumni from the Renmin University of China sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.
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Peng Shuai
- Occupations
- tennis player
- Biography
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Peng Shuai is a Chinese former professional tennis player. In February 2014, she was ranked as the world No. 1 doubles player by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), becoming the first Chinese tennis player to achieve that ranking in any discipline. She peaked at No. 14 of the singles rankings in August 2011, and won two singles and 23 doubles titles on the WTA Tour.
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Grace Mugabe
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Grace Ntombizodwa Mugabe is a Zimbabwean entrepreneur, politician and the widow of the late President Robert Mugabe. She served as the First Lady of Zimbabwe from 1996 until her husband's resignation in November 2017, a week after he was ousted from power in the 2017 Zimbabwean coup d'état. Starting as a secretary to Mugabe, she rose in the ranks of the ruling ZANU–PF party to become the head of its Women's League and a key figure in the Generation 40 faction. At the same time, she gained a reputation for privilege and extravagance during a period of economic turmoil in the country. She was given the nickname Gucci Grace due to her extravagance. She was expelled from the party, with other G40 members, during the 2017 coup.
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Mao Xinyu
- Enrolled in the Renmin University of China
- 1988-1992 graduated with bachelor's degree
- Occupations
- military personnelpoliticianwriterhistorianpoet
- Biography
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Mao Xinyu is a grandson of Mao Zedong and a major general in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of the People's Republic of China.
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Ren Zhiqiang
- Occupations
- entrepreneurbusinessperson
- Biography
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Ren Zhiqiang is an incarcerated Chinese real estate tycoon. Nicknamed "Big Cannon Ren", he is known for his outspoken views on Sina Weibo, where he accumulated more than 37 million followers until it was deleted by the Chinese authorities in 2016. He disappeared on 12 March 2020 after criticizing CCP general secretary Xi Jinping as a "clown" over the handling of China's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2020, he was sentenced to eighteen years' imprisonment on corruption charges, after a one-day trial.
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Liu He
- Occupations
- politicianeconomist
- Biography
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Liu He is a Chinese economist and retired politician who served as a vice premier of China from 2018 to 2023. Additionally, he served as the director of the Office of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2013 to 2023, the director of the Financial Stability and Development Committee from 2017 to 2023, as well as a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party from 2017 to 2022.
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Vivian Kong Man-wai
- Occupations
- politicianfencer
- Biography
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Vivian Kong Man Wai SBS MH is a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong since 2026 and Hong Kong former left-handed épée fencer. A three-time individual Asian champion and three-time Olympian, she won gold in women's individual épée at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
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Liu Qiangdong
- Enrolled in the Renmin University of China
- 1992-1996 graduated with bachelor's degree
- Occupations
- entrepreneurbusinessperson
- Biography
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Liu Qiangdong is a Chinese Internet entrepreneur. Liu founded JD Multimedia as a business-to-consumer single retail store for magneto-optical products in June 1998 and later moved the company into an e-commerce website known as JD.com (also known as Jingdong) in 2013.
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Lin Zhao
- Enrolled in the Renmin University of China
- Studied in 1958-1960
- Occupations
- poetwriter
- Biography
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Lin Zhao, born Peng Lingzhao (彭令昭), was a prominent Chinese dissident who was imprisoned and later executed by gunshot by the People's Republic of China during the Cultural Revolution for her criticism of Mao Zedong's policies. She is widely considered to be a martyr and exemplar for Chinese and other Christians, like the Chinese church leader and teacher Watchman Nee.
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Liu Yandong
- Enrolled in the Renmin University of China
- 1990-1994 graduated with master's degree in sociology
- Occupations
- politicianchemist
- Biography
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Liu Yandong is a retired Chinese politician. She recently served as the Vice Premier of China, and was a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party from 2007 to 2017, a State Councilor between 2007 and 2012, and was head of the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party between 2002 and 2007.
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Chen Ruolin
- Occupations
- politicianswimmercompetitive diver
- Biography
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Chen Ruolin is a Chinese platform diver and coach. She is a five-time Olympic gold medalist (2008, 2012 and 2016), ten-time World championship medalist (including six golds), nine-time World Cup medalist (eight golds), four-time Asian Games medalist (three golds) and two-time Universiade gold medalist, making her one of the most accomplished female divers in history.
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Hu Shuli
- Enrolled in the Renmin University of China
- 1978-1982 studied journalism
- Occupations
- journalistmagazine editor
- Biography
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Hu Shuli is the founder and publisher of Caixin Media. She is also the professor of the School of Journalism and Communication at Sun Yat-sen University and the adjunct professor of the School of Journalism and Communication at Renmin University of China.
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Priscilla Leung
- Occupations
- juristlawyeruniversity teacherscientistpolitician
- Biography
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Priscilla Leung Mei-fun GBS JP is a barrister and Hong Kong Legislative Councillor, representing the Election Committee since 2022 until now. She previously represented the Kowloon West constituency from 2008 to 2021. She was also a member of Kowloon City District Council.
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Gao Zhisheng
- Occupations
- politicianchinese human rights lawyerlawyerautobiographerhuman rights defender
- Biography
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Gao Zhisheng is a Chinese human rights attorney and dissident known for defending activists and religious minorities and documenting human rights abuses in China. Because of his work, Zhisheng has been disbarred and detained by the Chinese government several times, and severely tortured. He disappeared in February 2009 and was unofficially detained until December 2011, when it was announced that he had been imprisoned for three years. His commitment to defending his clients is influenced by his Christian beliefs and their tenets on morality and compassion. Gao's memoir, A China More Just (2007), documents his "fight as a rights lawyer in the world's largest communist state." In subsequent writing, he accuses the ruling Chinese Communist Party of state-sponsored torture and reports having been tortured by the Chinese secret police. At the beginning of 2012, Gao's brother said he had received a court document saying his brother was in Shayar jail in Xinjiang. In 2014, it was reported that Gao was released from jail and put under house arrest. He disappeared again in August 2017 in an apparent attempt to escape house arrest and was subsequently taken back into custody on his recapture in September, with his whereabouts being unknown. As of January 2025, Gao remains disappeared.
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Ding Zilin
- Enrolled in the Renmin University of China
- Studied in 1956-1960
- Occupations
- university teacherhuman rights defender
- Biography
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Ding Zilin is a retired professor of philosophy and the leader of the political activist group Tiananmen Mothers. Ding is the mother of Jiang Jielian, one of the first student protestors killed during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and ensuing crackdown.
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Zhang Lei
- Occupations
- investor
- Biography
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Zhang Lei is a Chinese investor and philanthropist. He is the founder and chairman of Hillhouse Investment, an Asia-focused private equity firm.
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Cheng Xiaonong
- Occupations
- economist
- Biography
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Cheng Xiaonong is a Chinese-American author.
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Lu Wei
- Enrolled in the Renmin University of China
- 2008-2011 graduated with Master of Business Administration
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Lu Wei is a former Chinese politician. He served as the deputy head of the Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party, the head of the General Office of the Central Leading Group for Internet Security and Informatization (one and the same with the Cyberspace Administration of China, CAC) from August 2013 to June 2016. Lu was previously Vice-Mayor of Beijing and the head of the Beijing Party organization's propaganda department, among other posts. Lu was named by Time magazine as one of the world's 100 most influential people in 2015. Multiple charges brought in 2017 resulted in Lu being sentenced to fourteen years in prison in 2019.
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Wang Ju-hsuan
- Enrolled in the Renmin University of China
- Graduated with Doctor of Laws
- Occupations
- lawyerpolitician
- Biography
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Wang Ju-hsuan, also known as Jennifer Wang, is a Taiwanese lawyer and politician. She was the Minister of the Council of Labor Affairs from 2008 to 2012. In 2015, Wang was selected as Eric Chu's running mate on the Kuomintang (KMT) ticket for the 2016 Republic of China presidential election, which they eventually lost.
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Zhang Xiaoming
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Zhang Xiaoming is a Chinese politician. He was the director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong and then of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, before being demoted to deputy director of the latter due to the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests.
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Gao Yu
- Occupations
- journalisthuman rights defender
- Biography
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Gao Yu is a Chinese journalist and dissident who has been repeatedly imprisoned.
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Xiao Jie
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Xiao Jie is a Chinese politician and an important political aide of Premier Li Keqiang. He served as a State Councilor and the Secretary General of the State Council from 2018 to 2023. Xiao served as the Minister of Finance from November 2016 to March 2018. He previously served as Deputy Secretary-General of the State Council and chief of staff of Premier Li Keqiang, and the deputy director of the State Council Leading Group for the Nationwide Economy Census. He had also served as the director of the State Administration of Taxation.
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Pan Gongsheng
- Occupations
- politicianbanker
- Biography
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Pan Gongsheng is a Chinese economist and politician who is the current Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary and governor of the People's Bank of China (PBC). He served as the Director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange from 2016 to 2023. At the PBC, he has worked on the monetary policy of China.
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Ma Kai
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Ma Kai is a Chinese retired politician who served as a vice premier of China from 2013 to 2018. He was formerly the chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission from 2003 to 2008, and a State Councilor and secretary-general of the State Council from 2008 to 2013.
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You Quan
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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You Quan is a Chinese retired politician who was the head of the United Front Work Department and a secretary of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party from 2017 to 2022. He previously served as Party Secretary of Fujian and chairman of Fujian People's Congress.
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Zhang Jun
- Occupations
- judge
- Biography
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Zhang Jun is a Chinese lawyer and politician who has been serving as President of the Supreme People's Court and Chief Justice of the People's Republic of China since March 2023.
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Rupert Hoogewerf
- Occupations
- journalist
- Biography
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Rupert Hoogewerf, also known by his Chinese name Hu Run (Chinese: 胡润; pinyin: Hú Rùn), is a British businessman, currently the chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Inc, best known for the "Hurun Rich List", a ranking of the wealthiest individuals.
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Bob Fu
- Enrolled in the Renmin University of China
- 1991-1993 graduated with bachelor's degree
- Occupations
- pastorhuman rights defender
- Biography
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Bob Fu is a Chinese-American pastor. In 2002, he founded ChinaAid, which provides legal aid to Christians in China, and has been its president since then. Bob Fu was born in Shandong in 1968 and studied English literature at Liaocheng University in the 1980s. He converted to Christianity after an American teacher gave him a biography of a Chinese Christian convert. After his studies, Fu taught English at the Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing while participating in the house church movement. In 1996, Bob Fu and his family emigrated to Hong Kong and then the United States, after his wife became pregnant without government permission to have a child. Fu founded the China Aid Association in Philadelphia in 2002, but moved its headquarters to Midland, Texas, in 2004. Fu is also known for his role in helping negotiate barefoot lawyer Chen Guangcheng's immigration to the United States. In this sense, he has been described as a "liaison" between oppressed groups in China and foreign governments or media that can help them.
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Xiao Gang
- Occupations
- bankerbusinesspersonpolitician
- Biography
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Xiao Gang was the chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission from March 2013 until 20 February 2016. He was previously chairman of the board of directors of Bank of China Limited, of the Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited, and deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, the central bank of the People's Republic of China. He has been credited for playing a crucial role in the reform of China's banking sector.
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Jiang Shigong
- Occupations
- academicphilosopher
- Biography
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Jiang Shigong is a Chinese legal and political theorist, who is currently the president of the Minzu University of China. He was previously a professor at Peking University Law School, and a researcher on Hong Kong affairs. He is a "conservative socialist" exponent of Xi Jinping Thought and is opposed to liberalism in China.
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Guo Lanying
- Occupations
- singerpolitician
- Biography
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Guo Lanying is a noted Chinese operatic soprano best known for singing patriotic songs such as "My Motherland" (1956) and "Nanniwan" (1943).
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Zhang Jie
- Occupations
- writer
- Biography
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Zhang Jie was a Chinese novelist and short-story writer. She also co-wrote a biography of the film director Wu Zuguang in 1986. She worked on writing different kinds of books for or with young protagonists; these types of works are included in junior and senior high school textbooks in China. She was one of China's first feminist writers.
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Wang Junzheng
- Occupations
- politicianofficial
- Biography
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Wang Junzheng is a Chinese politician, serving Party Secretary of Tibet since 18 October 2021. He was head of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of Xinjiang. Between 2016 and 2019, he was the Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary of Changchun. Prior to his position in Changchun, he served in a variety of posts, as vice-governor of Hubei, the Party Secretary of Xiangyang, and the mayor and party chief of Lijiang.
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Xu Xiaonian
- Enrolled in the Renmin University of China
- Graduated with master's degree
- Occupations
- economist
- Biography
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Xu Xiaonian is Professor of Economics and Finance at China Europe International Business School, named by Businessweek as one of China's Most Powerful People in 2009. From 1981 to 1985, he worked at Center of Development and Research, State Council of the People's Republic of China as Research Fellow. He got Doctor of Economics at University of California, Davis in 1991. From 1991 to 1995, he worked as assistant professor at Amherst College.
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Han Changfu
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Han Changfu is a Chinese politician. Until December 2020 he was Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Before he was Governor of Jilin.
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Sonia Chan
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Sónia Chan Hoi Fan was the Secretary for Administration and Justice from 2014 to 2019, the second most senior government official in Macau.
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Nie Chenxi
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Nie Chenxi is a Chinese politician who served as director and Party branch secretary of National Radio and Television Administration from 2018 to 2022 and deputy head of Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party. He served as a member of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.
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Zhang Sizhi
- Occupations
- chinese human rights lawyerhuman rights defenderlawyeruniversity teacher
- Biography
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Zhang Sizhi was an active rights lawyer in China, and a professor at Central University of Finance and Economics. He was known as "The lawyer's conscience".
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Wang Kai
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Wang Kai is a Chinese politician currently serving as the governor of Henan. Previously he served as the party chief of Changchun, the capital of northeast China's Jilin province. He entered the workforce in October 1983, and joined the Chinese Communist Party in December 1984.
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Li Qiaochu
- Years
- 1991-.. (age 35)
- Occupations
- human rights defender
- Biography
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Li Qiaochu is a Chinese labor and women's rights activist and researcher on labour issues. She was detained by authorities for four months in the first half of 2020 and again in February 2021, in both cases on national security charges. These were due to her connection with activists, including her partner Xu Zhiyong, who had secretly met in the southeastern city of Xiamen in December 2019 to discuss "democratic transition in China". In February 2024, Li was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison for "inciting subversion of state power". She was released in August 2024 after having completed her sentence.
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Zeng Jinyan
- Occupations
- politicianhuman rights defender
- Biography
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Zeng Jinyan is a Chinese blogger and human rights activist. Zeng was put under house arrest in August 2006 and the blog that details her life under constant surveillance and police harassment was subsequently blocked in China. Zeng continued to update her blog until July 27, 2008, before her disappearance.
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Lin Xiling
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Lin Xiling, originally named Cheng Haiguo, born in Shanghai, was a Chinese activist and dissident. Her father was a linguist at Beijing University who later went to Taiwan. In 1949, Lin was enlisted in PLA as a secretary in Wenling, Zhejiang. In 1953, she went to Renmin University. In the case of Hu Feng, she defended Hu and was later implicated by this.
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Gui Congyou
- Years
- 1965-.. (age 61)
- Occupations
- diplomat
- Biography
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Gui Congyou is a Chinese diplomat who served as the Chinese Ambassador to Sweden until his resignation in September 2021.
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Cai Fuchao
- Years
- 1951-.. (age 75)
- Occupations
- journalist
- Biography
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Cai Fuchao is a Chinese journalist, politician, and propaganda official. He previously served as deputy head of the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party and director of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (formerly State Administration for Radio and Television, or SARFT), and vice-mayor of Beijing.
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Zheng Bijian
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Zheng Bijian is a Chinese politician and government advisor whose theories about globalism and transparency emphasize the importance of projecting soft power and peace. Zheng is recognized for coining the term "China's peaceful rise" as part of a Ministry of State Security (MSS) influence operation.
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Han Wenxiu
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Han Wenxiu is a Chinese economist and politician, currently serving as executive deputy director of the Office of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission and director of the Office of the Central Rural Work Leading Group.
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Xie Chuntao
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Xie Chuntao is a Chinese writer and politician currently serving as vice president of the Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party.
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Han Dayuan
- Occupations
- legal scholar
- Biography
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Han Dayuan is Professor of Constitutional Law and the Dean of Renmin University of China Law School. He is also the President of the Chinese Constitutional Law Society.
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Tong Jianming
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Tong Jianming is a Chinese procurator and politician, currently serving as executive deputy procurator of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.
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Liu Yu
- Years
- 1975-.. (age 51)
- Occupations
- writeruniversity teacher
- Biography
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Liu Yu is a Chinese writer and political scientist. She is an associate professor of political science at Tsinghua University in Beijing. A prominent spokeswoman for Chinese liberalism, Liu's book Details of Democracy, an introduction of the workings of American democracy to a Chinese audience, was acclaimed as a creative and well-written cornerstone of the ideological movement.
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Zhi Shuping
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Zhi Shuping is a Chinese politician currently serving as vice chairperson of Proposal Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese people's Political Consultative Conference. Previously he served as director of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. He is a member of the 13th Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and a delegate to the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. He was an alternate of the 16th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, a member of the 17th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and a member of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. He was a deputy to the 10th National People's Congress.
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Wu Chengzhen
- Occupations
- academic
- Biography
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Wu Chengzhen is the first woman to become a Fangzhang (principal abbess) in the history of Taoism, which occurred in 2009.
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Pan Guang
- Occupations
- historianpolitical scientistuniversity teacher
- Biography
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Pan Guang is the Director of and Professor at the Shanghai Center for International Studies and Institute of European & Asian Studies at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Director of SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) Studies Center in Shanghai, Dean of Center of Jewish Studies Shanghai (CJSS), and Vice Chairman of the Chinese Society of Middle East Studies.
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Chen Yu
- Occupations
- writer
- Biography
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Chen Yu is a Chinese information scientist and information economist.
