China names Han ex-environmental protection officer to head ethnic affairs office

Pan Yue will be the second member of China’s dominant ethnic group to head the office responsible for minorities
In the role he will be responsible that has placed a greater focus on integration despite concerns about Beijing’s treatment of some groups including the Uygurs

Communist Party politics

Jun Maiin Beijing

Published: 9:00pm, 19 Jun, 2022

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China has appointed a former environmental protection official famous for taking a tough stance on local interests to head its ethnic affairs office.

Pan Yue, 62, was announced as party chief of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission on its website on Saturday.

Pan Yue, was previously best known for environmental work. Photo: CNS

The office is responsible for drafting laws regarding China’s policies towards its ethnic minority groups and implementing those laws and regulations.

Pan will be the second official from the Han majority to take charge of the ethnic affairs body.

Since 1954 and until 2020, the office had been held by officials from one of the country’s many ethnic minority groups, starting with Ulanhu, a renowned ethnic Mongol general whose name could be translated as the “red son of Communism”.

Since then the National Ethnic Affairs Commission has been led by Hui, Uygur, Korean and Mongol cadres.

Having a minority in charge of the commission nominally affirmed China’s long-standing ethnic minority model, in which they are supposed to be granted autonomy over their own affairs.

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The tradition was broken in 2020, when Chen Xiaojiang, an official from the party’s formidable anti-corruption body, was placed in charge.

It remains unclear what Chen’s new role will be.

In his new role, Pan will be the enforcer of President Xi Jinping’s version of “forging a sense of community of the Chinese nation”, which calls for greater integration of members of ethnic minorities to put the interests of the Chinese nation first.

China’s treatment of minority groups has attracted growing international criticism in recent years – especially in Xinjiang where it is accused of detaining a million Uygurs and other Muslim minority groups in reeducation camps and using forced labour. Beijing has defended its policies as being designed to counter extremism and terrorism.

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Pan is best remembered by many as having led a fierce campaign to challenge polluters backed by local governments.

In 2005 he halted 30 massive government-backed projects that failed to file proper environmental impact assessments, including a hydropower plant on the upper stretches of the Yangtze River by the China Three Gorges Corporation.

His bureau was upgraded to become China’s first Ministry for Environmental Protection in 2008.

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He left the ministry in 2016 and has also worked for the Central Institute of Socialism and United Front Work Department, which manages relations with non-party bodies.

Pan’s appointment was announced as part of the preliminary reshuffles in the run up to the 20th Party Congress, which will see a major overhaul of the country’s top leadership.

Earlier this month, a new head of the body that oversees religious affairs was appointed.

Ethnic minority delegates to China’s National People’s Congress. Photo: Xinhua

Cui Maohu, secretary general of the Yunnan provincial party committee, takes over from Wang Zuoan as director of the National Religious Affairs Administration.

Cui is new to religious affairs and has a background in provincial and personnel matters. A new role for Wang has not been announced.