On January 16, 2008, Song Xiuyan was reelected as the governor of Qinghai Province at the first session of the 11th provincial People's Congress. Song is the only female provincial governor in China.
As Liu Liying (born in 1932) and Wu Yi (born in 1939) have either retired or are readying for their retirement, cadres born in the 1950s like Song have become towers of strength among the intermediate and senior civil servants.
Compared with Liu and Wu, Song, born in the New China period, shows a lot of bright and new characteristics in her experience, personality and administrating style.
"Cadres born in 1950s have a higher knowledge levels and their thoughts are open and active, which is very important," said Professor Jiang Ping from the National School of Administration.
Immediately after accepting posts, the younger generation cadres convened press conferences, issued their inaugurals in public and delivered speeches on their administrative propositions. During a special CCTV interview, Song said that she had always worked using a low-key style, but she could better publicize the investment and tourist programs of Qinghai through a TV interview.
A graduate from the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, Song was born in Tianjin and went to Qinghai with her father's generation. After graduating from the junior middle school in 1971, she participated in the recruitment of the Xining Railway Branch like the majority of other railway employees' children and was chosen to serve as a telegraph operator. Later she became the deputy head of the Branch's publicity department.
Song radiates gentle eloquence combined with considerable theoretic levels, both of which became her winning tickets into the political arena. It's said that once at a provincial meeting, her behavior aroused the provincial Party committee leader's attention.
In January 1983, 28-year-old Song was promoted to be the deputy secretary of the Qinghai Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC), in charge of internal affairs. In September 1985, she passed the entrance examinations for the first college training class of the China Youth College for Political Sciences. She was released from work in order to study for two years.
Although given rare opportunities, her fate has not been smooth. In 1989, she lost the election to serve one more term as the secretary of the CYLC Qinghai Committee. Several months later, she was appointed as the vice secretary of the CPC Haidong prefectural committee.
During her lowest points, Song exhibited a positive attitude. Wu Qingsheng, her secretary in Haidong, said Song never displayed any sadness. "Song is really hard working," Wu added.
In April 1992, Song was transferred to Xining City. The grassroots working experience in Haidong influenced her greatly. Since that appointment her political career was just plain sailing toward becoming the provincial governor.
"As the provincial governor, I shoulder the trust of the 5.3 million Qinghai people. This role is crucial. As a woman, parents rank first for Confucian loyalty is the core of family ethics. Husband and children are like a heavy beam; they must be properly balanced." Song arranged her roles in this order.
(China.org.cn by Wang Zhiyong, Zhou Jing, Yang Xi and Zhang Tingting, March 8, 2008)