Tuo Zhen

Tuo Zhen
庹震
Deputy head of the Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China
Incumbent
Assumed office July 2015
Head	Liu Qibao
Head of the Propaganda Department of Guangdong Province
In office May 2012 – July 2015
Party Secretary	Wang Yang → Hu Chunhua
Preceded by	Lin Xiong
Succeeded by	Shen Haixiong
Personal details
Born	25 September 1959 Nanyang, Henan, China
Political party	Communist Party
Alma mater	Wuhan University

Tuo Zhen (Chinese: 庹震; pinyin: Tuǒ Zhèn; born 25 September 1959) is a Chinese official, serving since July 2015 as the deputy head of the Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China. Tuo is the former provincial propaganda chief of Guangdong Province, during which he was widely known for his involvement in the 2013 Southern Weekly incident. He has also served as the vice-president of the state-run Xinhua News Agency.^[1]

Biography

Tuo Zhen was born in Fangcheng County, Henan province, in 1959.^[1] His family name is extremely rare. In 1978, Tuo Zhen was admitted to Wuhan University, majoring in political economics.^[1] After graduating from university in 1982, he was assigned to work as an editor for the Economic Daily.^[1] In 2005, he was promoted to chief editor.^[1] In 2011, he was transferred to become vice president of Xinhua News Agency.^[1] In May 2012, Tuo Zhen was transferred to Guangdong province, named a member of the provincial Party Standing Committee, and head of the Guangdong Propaganda Department.^[1]

In January 2013, it is reported that under the command of Tuo Zhen, Guangdong liberal newspaper Southern Weekly was forced to add a provided commentary glorifying the Communist Party with its annual new year editorial, which was originally intended to call for proper implementation of the country's constitution.^[2][3] This action provoked many Southern Weekly reporters and intellectuals (include Mao Yushi, Zhang Yihe, Li Chengpeng, Zhang Sizhi, He Weifang, Leung Man-tao, Cai Ziqiang, Jiang Mingxiu, etc.) to criticize Tuo and call for his position.^[4] Over the period of a few weeks, nearly a dozen drafts were circulated between editors and propaganda officials under Tuo; ultimately the final article had evolved to look nothing like the original draft.^[5][6]

In July 2015, Tuo Zhen was promoted to deputy head of the Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China, serving as an assistant to Liu Qibao.^[7][8]

See also

• 2013 Southern Weekly incident

Works

• Eyes Under the Blue Sky: Visions of a Journalist. The Economic Daily Press. 1989. ISBN 7800361551.
• Silent Horizon. Communication University of China. 1991.
• Early Spring Sun. China Industry & Commerce Associated Press. 1993. ISBN 7801000226.
• Seeking Clues in Newspapers. China Industry & Commerce Associated Press. 1994. ISBN 7801000161.
• Watching the Borders. China Development Press. 1995. ISBN 7800872033.
• The Art of News Interviewing and Writing. China Worker's Press. 1996. ISBN 9787500818687.
• How to be an All-weather Journalist. China Development Press. 1998. ISBN 9787800872624.
• The Window Facing Society. China Development Press. 1999. ISBN 9787800873430.

References

1. "庹震同志简历" (in Chinese). 中国共产党新闻网. Archived from the original on 2013-01-04. Retrieved 2012.
2. Outrage at Guangdong newspaper forced to run party commentary, SCMP, 4 January 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
3. Southern Weekly reporters confront China censors, BBC, 4 January 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
4. "Southern Weekly reporters confront China censors". BBC.
5. "两岸学者联署促罢免广东宣传部长" (in Chinese). BBC中文网. Retrieved 2013-01-06.
6. 關於罷免廣東省宣傳部長庹震的公開建議書 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2013-01-07.
7. 广东宣传部长庹震进京，有何玄机？. Sina (in Chinese). 2015-07-18.
8. 海外网：庹震任中宣部副部长体现中央肯定 南周事件考验智慧. Sxdsb.voc.com.cn (in Chinese). 2015-07-18.