On May 24th, Wang Zhonglin, the Secretary of the Hubei Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, made a speech at the opening ceremony of a training session for county party secretaries in the province, demanding that they be “loud, resolute, and fierce.” His statement sparked ridicule among netizens, who criticized Communist Party officials for speaking like thugs and hooligans. The phrase “fierce and loud” was actually a catchphrase of Chen Liangyu, the former Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee who was ousted from his position.
According to official reports in Hubei, Wang Zhonglin, who also serves as the Director of the Standing Committee of the Provincial People’s Congress, urged county party secretaries across the province on May 24th to show enthusiasm and boost the spirit of being “fierce and loud.” Additionally, he used terms like “loud” and “resolute” to emphasize his expectations for officials.
Wang Zhonglin’s use of expressions like “loud, resolute, and fierce” stirred up mockery on overseas social media platforms. Netizens commented:
“The language of the provincial party secretary is akin to that of a thug.”
“Why does Hubei always have such leaders? Li Hongzhong even snatched a journalist’s recording pen before.”
“There’s not much difference between this party and bandits.”
“Other than ‘do’ and ‘shout,’ the vocabulary of Communist Party cadres is truly baffling.”
“Because grassroots Communist Party cadres are mostly illiterate, they can only understand this elementary level language.”
“Treat superiors like pet dogs, treat subordinates like guard dogs, treat interests like hungry dogs, and treat the masses like mad dogs.”
Some netizens remarked, “The previous ‘fierce and loud’ advocate, Chen Liangyu, has already been imprisoned.” “Choosing sides consequences in being dealt with; this epidemic secretary’s days are numbered.”
According to the Hong Kong “Wen Wei Po,” using “fierce and loud” to describe enthusiasm was initially proposed during Chen Liangyu’s tenure as Shanghai Municipal Party Secretary. He once rolled up his sleeves and declared during a party meeting, “With the resolute spirit of being ‘fierce and loud,’ we must diligently implement all tasks” and “exude a ‘fierce and loud’ spirit in every aspect.” However, after Chen fell from power, these remarks disappeared completely within a month.
Chen Liangyu served as the Secretary of the Communist Party of Shanghai from 2002 to 2006, was removed from office in September 2006 for allegedly embezzling Shanghai social security funds for investment, and was sentenced to 18 years in April 2008.
Wang Zhonglin was transferred from Jinan to become the Secretary of the Wuhan Municipal Party Committee in March 2020 during the peak of the Wuhan COVID-19 outbreak. Upon his arrival, due to Xi Jinping’s scheduled visit to Wuhan, he urged the people deeply affected by the epidemic to “be grateful to the Party and to Xi Jinping,” which resulted in widespread criticism. Netizens questioned, “With hundreds of innocent lives lost, how can they be expected to be grateful?” Eventually, authorities had to urgently pull back the reports. However, Wang Zhonglin’s loyalty declarations led to his continued promotion to Governor and Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee.
High-ranking officials of the Chinese Communist Party often spark controversy with their vulgar remarks. In 2017, Cai Qi, then Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee, faced backlash for his statement during a sweep of what he called “low-end population,” where he demanded that “at the grassroots level, use real knives and real guns, and face challenges resolutely.” Despite being a focal point of public criticism, Cai Qi emerged unscathed and is now a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party.