Senior editor at People’s Daily appointed deputy director of Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong
- Lu Xinning, 52, has also been chairwoman of the paper’s listed company since September last year
- She will be the seventh deputy director at liaison office, and the second with a background in state-owned media
A senior editor at People’s Daily, the flagship newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, has been appointed a deputy director of Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong, the central government announced on Tuesday.
Deputy editor-in-chief Lu Xinning, 52, has also been chairwoman of the paper’s listed company, People.cn Co., Ltd, since September last year.
She would be the seventh deputy director at the liaison office, and the second with a background in state-owned media.
Yang Jian, a deputy director for six years, used to be president of Xinhua’s Guangdong branch, and the No 2 publicity official on the Guangdong provincial party committee.
Lu worked at People’s Daily for 28 years after graduating from Peking University with a master’s degree in classical Chinese literature in 1991, according to her resume.
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Starting as editor of education, science and culture, she became director of editorial and opinion at the paper in 2009, and made it onto the elite editorial committee in 2014.
Lu is one of the leading writers behind the byline “Ren Zhongping”, a pen name used by People’s Daily to signal important commentaries. These opinion pieces are carefully crafted by a group of reporters and editors and deployed to set an official tone on major policies and current affairs.
Baptist University journalism lecturer Bruce Lui Ping-kuen, a veteran reporter covering mainland issues, said Lu’s appointment may indicate that one of the six other deputy directors might be relieved from their post or that Beijing would like to reinforce ideological control in Hong Kong.
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Yang, who has a similar background to Lu, is the oldest deputy director and reached age 60 – the retirement age for vice-ministerial officials in China – last December.
There has been no official announcement about Yang.
“Lu’s appointment – considering her background – is also in line with Beijing’s emphasis on ideological work in Hong Kong, including in the areas of mass media, education and youth work,” Lui said.
But he doubted the party’s publicity style – which mostly focused on celebrating the strength and revival of the country – would be effective in Hong Kong.
“The influence of long-term education, moral righteousness, institutional power and kindness to the grass roots resonates more with people here,” Lui said.
