On May 18th, Tang Renjian, the Party Secretary and Minister of the Chinese Communist Party’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, was under investigation. During his tenure, he announced the formal implementation of the “Agricultural Management Law,” which sparked public outrage.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection announced on the 18th that Tang Renjian is suspected of “serious violations of discipline and laws” and is currently undergoing review and investigation.
Just three days before, Tang Renjian made a public appearance at the National Rural Talent Work Conference held in Xianyang, Shaanxi.
At the age of 62, Tang Renjian has held various positions including Deputy Director of the Central Financial and Economic Leading Group Office, Deputy Director of the Central Rural Work Leading Group Office, and Deputy Leader of the State Council’s Poverty Alleviation and Development Leading Group. In 2014, Tang Renjian was transferred to Guangxi and served as the Vice Chairman of the Autonomous Region Government for two years; in 2017, he also held positions as Deputy Secretary of the Gansu Provincial Party Committee and Governor. In December 2020, he was appointed as the Director of the Central Rural Work Leading Group Office, Party Secretary, and Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Tang Renjian is a representative of the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party and a member of the 20th Central Committee.
Tang Renjian served as Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs for less than two years. At the end of 2022, the Chinese Communist Party’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs announced the formal implementation of the Agricultural Management Law starting from January 1, 2023. Since then, in many areas of the mainland, agricultural management personnel have been acting arrogantly in villages, cutting down trees, seizing livestock and other materials from farmers, damaging crops, and forcefully promoting the “returning forests to farmland” policy. The so-called “law enforcement” by agricultural management agencies is likened to “invaders entering the village.” This policy has sparked public anger, with some farmers wielding sticks to repel agricultural management personnel.