Wen Jiabao

Premier since 2003, 70-year-old Wen served as vice-premier between 1998 and 2002. Earlier in his career he spent 14 years working in Gansu province’s geological bureau before being promoted in 1982 to vice-minister of geology and mineral resources. Wen graduated from the Beijing Institute of Geology in 1968 and has a master’s degree in geology. He was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee between 2002 and 2012.

The best stories of 2012 from South China Morning Post

30 Dec 2012

It's been a year of unforgettable stories from Hong Kong, China and around the world.

Wen Jiabao

3 Oct 2012

Premier of the PRC

Wen Jiabao: the people's champion or a chameleon

3 Mar 2013

Sympathisers and admirers say he has been a true reformer and the "people's premier". Opponents question his sincerity because he has often failed to live up to his reformist pledges and meet...

3 comments

Beijing considers property tax to curb home market

21 Feb 2013

The central government has issued a fresh warning that it will roll out a property tax trial across the nation to rein in any sharp rises in home prices. In the latest sign that it remains...

Clean air to breathe is a human right, too

4 Feb 2013

After days of being shrouded in heavy smog, Beijing residents woke up on Friday to spectacular blue skies.

But they had the heavenly Lord rather than "Grandpa Wen" (the nickname of Premier...

6 comments

Opinion

Wang Xiangwei

Super ministries may not be the right answer for mainland China

Alex Lo

Church developers remain unbowed by government rules

George Chen

A house is not a home until it becomes affordable

Briefs, February 3, 2013

More than 50 people have been killed on mainland roads in four major accidents since Friday, as hundreds of millions journey home for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.

Wen Jiabao says property tax reform needs serious study

Premier Wen Jiabao said yesterday that property tax reform should be studied "in the medium to long run", suggesting a plan to expand a tax trial might be delayed.

Things are already looking up above and on ground for 2013

In 2012 we spent much of the year raging about illegal car parking, Hong Kong's dirty air, the Shek Kwu Chau incinerator, the legal system, banks and their travails, the politics of illegal...

MONITOR

Reform is impossible when the reformers are losing so much

China's incoming President Xi Jinping, outgoing premier Wen Jiabao and former central bank governor Dai Xianglong have a couple of things in common.

What Xi Jinping must do to root out corruption

Upon his promotion to the post of general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and therefore the leader of China, Xi Jinping declared that one of his top priorities was to tackle corruption....

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QINGHAI

Wen Jiabao visits Tibetan region hoping to cement legacy

Premier Wen Jiabao called on monks in Yushu, Qinghai, to stay pure when he paid a visit to the earthquake-devastated Tibetan autonomous prefecture on New Year's Eve.