China's top legislature has approved the cabinet nomination of
Wan Gang, a non-Communist party member, as the country's new
minister of science and technology.
Wan, a member of the China Zhi Gong (Public Interest) Party,
replaces 65-year-old Xu Guanhua, becoming the only current
non-Communist party minister in China's State Council.
He is also the first cabinet minister from the non-Communist
party since the late 1970s when China launched its economic reform
and opening-up drive.
A former automobile engineer at the Audi Corporation in Germany,
Wan, born in August 1952, was president of Shanghai's Tongji
University before his new appointment.
Wan, a Shanghai native, is vice chairman of the Central
Committee of the Zhi Gong Party, a non-Communist political party
with more than 15,600 members.
Founded in 1925, the China Zhi Gong Party is mainly composed of
returned overseas Chinese, relatives of overseas Chinese, and noted
figures and scholars who have overseas ties.
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC)
approved the nomination at the conclusion of its four-day bimonthly
session on Friday.
"The appointment of a non-CPC member as cabinet minister is an
important move in implementing and improving the system of the
multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the
leadership of Communist Party," an official with the United Front
Work Department of the CPC Central Committee told Xinhua.
"It is a strategic step in pushing forward the socialist
political construction," said the official, who declined to be
named.
It also demonstrated that the development of China's socialist
democracy has provided a wider channel for non-CPC members to
participate into China's political affairs, the official said.
In the 1950s, a number of non-Communist members were appointed
ministers in the country's cabinet, but they were soon dismissed
during the "anti-rightist" movement.
In recent years, the CPC Central Committee has issued a series
of directives and recommendations to promote non-CPC members to
political positions.
In 2005, the CPC Central Committee ordered all local governments
and departments at or above county level to open up the top jobs to
non-CPC members and non-politically affiliated people.
The directive also stipulated that the State Council, the
country's highest administrative body, should pay particular
attention to appointing non-CPC members and non-politically
affiliated candidates to ministerial positions or their
equivalents.
By January this year, more than 32,000 non-CPC members were
holding leading positions above the county-level at governments and
law enforcement departments at various levels, according to
statistics from the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central
Committee.
More than 180,000 non-Communist Party deputies now serve in
national or local people's congresses, and about 340,000 are
serving on national or local political consultative conferences,
China's political advisory bodies.
Wan began to work at the research and development department of
the German Audi Corporation in 1991, when he graduated with honors
from the Clausthal Technical University in Germany with a Ph.D
degree in Mechanical Engineering.
In 1996, he was promoted to technical manager in the production
and technology division, and took charge of information
manufacturing technology as well as management.
Wan's leadership and contributions to many technological
innovations are said to have helped the company achieve outstanding
financial results.
In 2000, Wan made a strategic proposal to China's State Council
to develop a new type of automobile propelled by new clean fuel,
with a view to transforming China's auto industry.
His proposal received a warm response from the Ministry of
Science and Technology and the then State Economic and Trade
Commission.
By the end of 2000, Wan returned home at the invitation of the
Ministry of Science and Technology and was appointed chief
scientist and group leader of a key national electric vehicle
project.
In April 2001, he began to work in Tongji as director of the
center of new fuel automobile. Four months later, he became
Assistant President of Tongji. In July 2004, Wan was promoted to
president of the university.
Also on Friday, the NPC Standing Committee approved the
nomination of Yang Jiechi, former ambassador to the United States,
as new foreign minister, replacing Li Zhaoxing.
Xu Shaoshi takes over from Sun Wensheng as minister of land and
resources. Chen Lei was appointed minister of water resources,
replacing Wang Shucheng.
Li, Sun and Wang have all reached the customary retirement
age.
(Xinhua News Agency April 27, 2007)