After serving as the Deputy Director of the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Gansu Province for a month, Kong Shaoxun has officially been appointed as the Governor of Gansu Province. Kong Shaoxun, who worked in the CCP Central Office for nearly 16 years, is most famously known for carrying out orders from CCP leader Xi Jinping during the closing session of the 2022 CCP 20th National Congress, instructing staff to remove Hu Jintao from the venue.
In a meeting held in Lanzhou on September 29th, the 14th Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of Gansu Province appointed Wu Xiaojun as the Director of the Standing Committee of the Gansu Provincial People’s Congress, and Kong Shaoxun as the Governor of Gansu Province.
Prior to this, on August 29th, Kong Shaoxun, the Deputy Director of the CCP Central Office, made a public appearance in Gansu Province as the Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Provincial Government Party Group, signaling his upcoming appointment as Governor of Gansu Province and promotion to department-level.
On September 2nd, official sources announced that the Gansu Provincial People’s Congress had accepted Ren Zhenhe’s request to resign from the position of Governor of the Gansu Provincial Government due to work changes, and appointed Kong Shaoxun as the Deputy Governor of the Provincial Government and Acting Governor.
Four years ago at the CCP 20th National Congress, Kong Shaoxun’s role in removing Hu Jintao from the venue on orders from CCP leader Xi Jinping drew attention from the public.
During the closing session of the CCP 20th National Congress on October 22, 2022, Hu Jintao sitting next to Xi Jinping was forcefully removed from the venue by a staff member, followed closely by Kong Shaoxun, the Deputy Director of the General Office.
A tweet by Dake Kang, a reporter with the Associated Press in Beijing, described the scene where two people were seen removing Hu Jintao, with the older one having a badge reading “Kong Shaoxun”. After escorting Hu Jintao out, Kong Shaoxun returned to the scene, reported to Xi, received instructions, nodded repeatedly, and then left.
Public records show that Kong Shaoxun, born in February 1969 in Zhongning County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, graduated from the Department of Economics at Renmin University of China from 1987 to 1991. He has held various positions such as Deputy Division-level Secretary at the Office of the Yinchuan City Government in Ningxia, Deputy Director of the Secretary Department of the Party Committee Office of Ningxia, Deputy Director and Director of the Secretary Department of the Party Committee Office, Deputy Director and Deputy Secretary-General of the Party Committee Office. In January 2009, he became a Standing Committee Member and Deputy Secretary of the Wuzhong Municipal Committee in Ningxia.
In December 2009, Kong Shaoxun was appointed Deputy Commander of the Shanghai World Expo 600-Day Action City Management Command, participating in the preparation for the Shanghai World Expo. At that time, Ding Xuexiang was a Standing Committee Member and Secretary-General of the CCP Shanghai Municipal Committee.
In December 2010, Kong Shaoxun transferred to work in the CCP Central Office, serving as Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the General Office, Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission, Director of the Personnel Bureau, Deputy Team Leader of the Targeted Poverty Alleviation Working Group, and Deputy Director of the General Office and Secretary-General of the Secretariat. He has worked under four General Directors of the CCP Central Office: Ling Jihua (September 2007 to August 2012), Li Zhanshu (September 2012 to October 2017), Ding Xuexiang (October 2017 to March 2023), and Cai Qi (March 2023 to present).