Zheng Yanxiong (; born 25 August 1963) is a Chinese politician who served as director of the

Hong Kong Liaison Office The Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative office of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China in Hong Kong. It is located in Sai Wan, Hong ...

and secretary of the Hong Kong Work Committee of the Chinese Communist Party from January 2023 to May 2025. Previously, he was the director of the

Office for Safeguarding National Security of the CPG in the HKSAR An office is a space where the employees of an organization perform administrative work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific du ...

. Zheng is known for controversial statements denouncing foreign media reporting on the Wukan protests in

Shanwei Shanwei ( zh, c= ), or Swabue, or also commonly known as Hailufeng ( zh, c= , portmanteau of Haifeng and Lufeng) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. It borders Jieyang to the east, Meizhou and ...

in 2011, and for the crackdown of renewed protests in Shanwei in 2016.

Early life and education

Zheng was born in the Chaonan District of

Shantou Shantou, Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized as Swatow and sometimes known as Santow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong, China, with a total population of 5,502,031 as of the 20 ...

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

, in August 1963. In July 1984, he graduated from

Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine The Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine (GZHTCM; ) is a provincial public university in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It is affiliated with the Province of Guangdong. The university is part of the Double First-Class Construction. Faculty * ...

, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ...

. After graduation, he worked at the university. In May 1986, he joined the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

(CCP). Zheng Yanxiong speaks

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

Career

Guangzhou

In September 1992, he was appointed head of the Youth Work Department of Guangdong Provincial Committee of the

Communist Youth League of China The Communist Youth League of China (CYLC; also known as the Young Communist League of China or simply the Communist Youth League or CYL) is a people's organization of the People's Republic of China for youth between the ages of 14 and 28, r ...

. One year later, he became a member of the Standing Committee of the CCP Guangdong Provincial Committee and was appointed head of the Urban Rural Department of Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League of China. In 1995, he earned a master of economics degree from

Sun Yat-sen University Sun Yat-sen University (; SYSU) is a public university in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education, and co-funded by the Ministry of Education, SASTIND, and Guangdong Provincial Government. The university is p ...

. He became deputy secretary-general of South China Branch of ''

People's Daily The ''People's Daily'' ( zh, s=人民日报, p=Rénmín Rìbào) is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It provides direct information on the policies and viewpoints of the CCP in multiple lan ...

'' in March 1998, and then secretary-general, beginning in December of the same year. In January 2002, he was appointed deputy director of the Policy Research Office of Guangdong Provincial CCP Committee.

Shanwei

In January 2005, he was transferred to

and appointed

Deputy Communist Party Secretary In modern Chinese politics, a Deputy Party Committee Secretary (; also translated as Deputy Party Secretary, deputy party chief, vice party chief) serves as the lieutenant to the Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary, and thus the depu ...

and Secretary of Discipline Inspection Commission. On 11 January 2009, he was promoted to become mayor of Shanwei, and then Communist Party Secretary, beginning in August 2011. During his term in office, he dealt with the Wukan protests. He became well known as party secretary in Shanwei when a protest by villagers in Wukan seeking compensation for land requisitioned by the government broke out in 2011.

Guangzhou

In July 2013, he was transferred back to

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

and appointed executive vice director of Publicity Department of Guangdong Provincial Committee of the CCP. In May 2018, he became executive deputy secretary-general and director of the Policy Office of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the CCP. In October of that same year, he was promoted to become secretary-general of the committee. On 29 January 2019, he was elected a member of the Standing Committee of the committee.

Hong Kong

On 3 July 2020, he was appointed as the director of the newly established

. In August 2020, Zheng and ten other officials were sanctioned by the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments. ...

under

Executive Order 13936 Executive Order 13936, entitled "The President’s Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization", is an executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on July 14, 2020. On the same day Trump had signed into law Hong Kong Autonomy Act, one ...

President Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021. ...

for undermining Hong Kong's autonomy. On 14 October 2020, the United States Department of State released a report on ten individuals who materially contributed to the failure of China to meet its obligations under the Sino–British Joint Declaration and Hong Kong's Basic Law. Zheng was on the list. On 14 January 2023, he was appointed as the director of the

Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong The Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative office of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China in Hong Kong. It is located in Sai Wan, Hong ...

. He was also appointed as the national security advisor to the

Committee for Safeguarding National Security The Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is a national security committee established by the Government of Hong Kong under the Article 12 of the Hong Kong national security law. The co ...

. and was replaced by Zhou Ji on 31 May 2025.

References

External links

Zheng Yanxiong's press conference on the Wukan protests on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zheng, Yanxiong 1963 births Living people Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine alumni Sun Yat-sen University alumni People's Republic of China politicians from Guangdong Chinese Communist Party politicians from Guangdong Individuals sanctioned by the United States under the Hong Kong Autonomy Act Chinese individuals subject to U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List Secretaries-general of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party