Chapter 53 Party Committee Work
The General Office of the Provincial Party Committee does not have as many departments as the General Office of the Provincial Government, and its staffing is not as large as that there.
The General Office of the Provincial Party Committee has 17 bureaus, departments, divisions and offices, the most important of which are six secretariats. The full-time secretaries of the deputy secretaries are assigned to the First Secretariat. Hu Jiao is the deputy director of the secretariat (at the division level) and also serves as deputy director and secretary of the Standing Committee Office.
The General Office has six deputy secretaries-general. The secretary-general is a member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee. Currently, Wu Changjun, deputy secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, concurrently holds the position. It is expected that one of them will be promoted in the next step.
Therefore, the working atmosphere in the Provincial Party Committee Office has been a bit depressing recently, and no one dares to make mistakes during such a sensitive period.
Wang Jianxin emerged as a rising star and jumped from the Inspection Department to become the deputy secretary-general in charge of work, which made the other deputy secretaries-general very dissatisfied.
Among the institutions under the General Office, the Supervision Department, Confidential Service Center and Standing Committee Office are at the deputy department level, and the others are all at the department level.
Wang Jianxin's position is Deputy Secretary-General of the General Office of the Provincial Party Committee, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Office and Director of the Confidential Service Center. He assists the Secretary-General in managing daily work and is in charge of the Inspection Department, Secretariat, Personnel Department, and Finance Department.
The secretariat work is assisted by Deputy Secretary-General Li Deqing, who ranks fourth.
The Provincial Government Office consists of more than 20 departments, including 17 deputy secretaries-general. The secretariat is divided into nine departments. The Governor's Office is the first department, followed by the Second Secretary Department, the Third Secretary Department, etc.
This is mainly because there are too many functional departments under the provincial government, and they are divided according to the industries in charge of the vice governors. In this way, each secretariat can do its own thing and specialize in its own field, so as to avoid causing a joke for outsiders to watch.
Comparing the two offices, the Standing Committee Office is aligned with the Governor's Office, but internally, the Standing Committee Office is clearly higher than the Governor's Office.
The Party is in charge of organization and personnel, which can also be distinguished from the administrative levels. The secretary-general of the provincial party committee is a member of the provincial party committee standing committee, while the secretary-general of the provincial government is half a level lower.
Relatively speaking, Hu Jiao, deputy director of the Standing Committee Office and full-time secretary of the provincial party secretary, stands out invisibly.
So what are the main daily tasks of the provincial party committee and relevant functional departments?
The General Office of the Provincial Party Committee, the Organization Department of the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Propaganda Department of the Provincial Party Committee, the United Front Work Department of the Provincial Party Committee, the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the Provincial Party Committee, the Policy Research Office of the Provincial Party Committee, the Taiwan Straits Affairs Office of the Provincial Party Committee, the Working Committee of the Provincial Government Agencies, the Veteran Affairs Bureau of the Provincial Party Committee, the External Propaganda Office, the Confidentiality Office, the Office of the Steering Committee for Spiritual Civilization Construction and other institutions.
Among these departments, the main leaders of the General Office, Organization Department, Discipline Inspection Commission, Propaganda Department, United Front Work Department, and Political and Legal Affairs Commission are mostly members of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and enjoy vice-ministerial treatment.
Since Hu Jiao had just taken over the secretarial work, there were a lot of things to do and he needed time to familiarize himself with and sort them out.
Time flies, and a month has passed in a blink of an eye. On June 10, Hu Zhongzhi presided over a plenary meeting of the Provincial Party Committee. In accordance with the spirit of the Central Committee, he nominated Zeng Mingcai, a member of the Provincial Party Committee and former Minister of Environmental Protection, as a member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee.
Subsequently, the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee passed a resolution to remove Wu Changjun from his position as Secretary-General of the Provincial Party Committee Office and replace him with Zeng Mingcai as Secretary-General of the Provincial Party Committee Office. It also recommended Liu Quanyou, Director of the Development and Reform Commission, to serve as Vice Governor and submitted it to the Provincial People's Congress for approval.
Wang Jianxin was transferred to the position of director of the Policy Research Office.
Originally, the General Office had privately determined that Wang Jianxin, the upstart, would take over no matter what. However, Zeng Mingcai suddenly emerged as a dark horse and made his way from the inconspicuous Environmental Protection Department to take charge of the General Office.
Hu Jiao could only smile bitterly when facing Wang Jianxin.
The resolution of the Standing Committee was drafted by him personally. He was also aware of Hu Zhongzhi's nomination for the Standing Committee. Afterwards, he almost asked about it. Although he held back, Hu Zhongzhi still smiled and explained, "Some people are not as simple as they seem on the surface. You need to understand this more."
In any case, Wang Jianxin was promoted to a higher level, from deputy director to director.
It's just a pity that the deputy minister and national leader were right in front of us, and the power seemed within our reach, but it cruelly drifted away and further away.
Wang Jianxin knew very well that if he missed this opportunity, he would have no hope in this life.
Hu Jiao also vaguely got news from his father that a central leader had his eyes on Liu Hongsu for the additional member of the provincial party committee standing committee, but Hu Zhongzhi nominated Zeng Mingcai. After the Organization Department of the Central Committee conducted an investigation, Zeng Mingcai was finally reused at the insistence of Hu Zhongzhi.
Recalling the scene when the two were called for a talk on his first day in office, Liu Hongsu looked distressed, probably because he did not become a member of the Standing Committee. Although he was comforted by being promoted to vice governor, he was still half a step behind the Standing Committee members.
How could the performance of the two at that time indicate any sign of promotion?
So experienced! They are all experienced officials.
Shaking his head, Hu Jiao temporarily dismissed the change that had become a fact. Now he was Zeng Mingcai's direct subordinate. Zeng Mingcai was quite cordial to Hu Jiao and repeatedly emphasized that they should address each other as officials in public but be brothers in private.
This gave Hu Jiao a headache. Zeng Mingcai was older than Hu Jian, so how could he call him "Brother Zeng"?
After Zeng Mingcai officially took over the General Office, the first thing he did was to instruct the Agency Service Center, which was responsible for the service station in the Secretary's Office, to keep two dishes, boiled chicken and pork trotter in clear soup, ready for a long time. He also specifically mentioned that these were prepared for Comrade Hu Jiao.
Wang Jianxin couldn't help but laugh, "Hu Jiao, this nanny Zeng is really competent. She's letting you enjoy the leadership treatment in advance."
Hu Jiao sighed inwardly, no wonder Secretary Hu wanted to kick you out of the General Office, it's a pity for Deputy Secretary Wu Changjun's painstaking efforts.
The Policy Research Office is the theoretical rear of the Standing Committee members and also serves as a consultant for guiding the development of party building and government work. But in the final analysis, it is still mainly based on theory and ideology.
Wu Changjun once made a final effort and said to Hu Zhongzhi in a tactful way, "Jianxin has solid theoretical work and rich practical work experience. Would you like to consider it again?"
Hu Zhongzhi smiled and said, "That's why we should give full play to his strengths. He can just do theoretical research. The General Office is mainly for service. I think Zeng Laocai is a good choice to be the chief steward."
Hu Zhongzhi set the tone, and Wu Changjun didn't dare to say anything else, but he couldn't help but blame Wang Jianxin for being unstable.
Next, Fu Dayou, the former director of political research, became the director of the Development and Reform Commission, and another deputy secretary-general of the provincial government who had performed relatively well when he served Hu Zhongzhi took over as the director of the Environmental Protection Department.
After a month of preliminary understanding, Hu Jiao has basically mastered the main procedures and steps of the Party Committee's work. Compared with the tedious and professional work of the government, the Party Committee is more theoretical, grasps ideology, and leads the adjustment of development direction, and does not do too much specific professional work.
One of the central tasks of the Party Committee is to focus on leading cadres at all levels, which is truly "people-oriented."
In line with the central spirit, various policies and lines are formulated for the organization, discipline, study, and propaganda of party committees at all levels. At the department level and above, work is carried out around party building, improving the quality of cadres, maintaining good work style, etc.
In other words, the Party Committee appoints all kinds of talents to leadership positions, enables them to play their greatest role, and enables all undertakings in the province to make substantial progress.
Hu Jiao was exposed to a lot of theories during his school years. After he started working, he only did some short-term leadership work in the Tieshu Township Party Committee. However, that was only a township-level party committee. Compared with the provincial party committee, the gap was huge.
Although he later worked in the Inspection Office, he did not work much. Later, he served as deputy county magistrate of Tong County, but he never really got involved in the work of the Party Committee.
It was not until now that he truly understood from actual work what a leading cadre is and how the Party’s work should be carried out.
These affairs gave Hu Jiao a new feeling and also accumulated valuable work experience. He personally felt the power of the position of "secretary". What is talent? How to turn talents into leaders? This is the fundamental role of the secretary.
Unfortunately, he has never presided over work in a party committee at the county level or above.
This was also mentioned by Hu Zhongzhi by chance. Hu Jianguo also clearly told his son that it would be impossible for him to do secretarial work for too long. At most two years, he would have to serve in the county-level local party committee. He asked his son to study hard, seize the opportunity, follow Secretary Hu Zhongzhi, and experience it seriously.
Hu Zhongzhi's schedule is quite tight. Just a few days after taking office as secretary, he had already planned several major tasks for the whole year, and then began to divide the time periods around these major tasks.
The Secretariat has made detailed arrangements for the itineraries of each secretary, usually once every three days. If there are any special circumstances, Hu Jiao will notify.
There is a dedicated Deputy Secretary-General responsible for itinerary arrangements.
The Party Founding Day in July is approaching. At the beginning of the year, the Central Committee held the 15th National Congress. Regarding the spirit of the meeting, the provincial party committee emphasized that it must be implemented again. Meetings were held, studies were made, and speeches were given. For Hu Jiao, he had basically figured out Hu Zhongzhi's speaking style. In the recent series of various speech materials, Hu Jiao slowly adapted and began to feel at home.
Hu Zhongzhi did not like going down to investigate, which was beyond Hu Jiao's expectation. He originally thought that the diligent secretary would prefer to go on incognito visits or travel light to investigate the progress and implementation of local work.
But Hu Zhongzhi doesn't like it. He stays in the office every day, reviewing documents, watching TV occasionally, and trying to reduce going out as much as possible.
He had to reject most of the invitations that came in every day, or delegate them to other secretaries or vice governors. If he really couldn't refuse any, he would just give a brief speech, never more than half an hour.
"Why are you trying to make a fuss? I've been working for decades. I know everything about the empty talk at the local level. The work plan has been set. I don't have the habit of making comments. Everyone should be assigned their roles and talents. Everyone knows what they should do. No matter how much I say, how many percentage points can I raise GDP?"
This was a weekend family gathering involving three members of the Hu family, Hu Zhongzhi and his son Hu Jianguo. Seeing that July 1 was approaching, Hu Jianguo advised Hu Zhongzhi to go out more often, visit cadres at all levels, and cheer everyone up.
So Hu Zhongzhi said the above words.
In fact, the main reason is that the governor has been too popular recently. He can be seen on the provincial TV news almost every night. He has been mingling well with party members and cadres at all levels, visiting industrial and mining enterprises, administrative institutions, and going up and down the mountains and rivers. In just one month, the governor has basically visited all the heavyweight industries.
I'm afraid we'll have to go downstairs next.
Hu Jianguo smiled and persuaded, "Secretary, I know you are fed up, but you still have to do things to save face. This is not about pointing fingers or acting. To be honest, if you really go to another unit, I am afraid they will be more excited and more welcoming."
Hu Zhongzhi shook his head. "No. I'm too lazy to deal with them. If I go to those who can do things, I'll waste their time. If I go to those who can't do things, I'll flatter them. Hu Jiao, you have to learn from me on this point. Don't be like your father, hypocritical."
Hu Jianguo laughed out loud, "Secretary, don't say that in front of the children."
Hu Zhongzhi pointed at him and said, "You can do it, but you are afraid of what others say? I have come this far, but I still can't return to my nature and be a real, honest party member? I had to deal with it before. Although I haven't reached the top level, the real top leaders never talk nonsense. Do I need to do that? So, now I can relax and realize my ideal blueprint according to my own intentions and true heart."
Seeing that Hu Jiao was silent and kept laughing, Hu Jianguo couldn't help but ask, "Oh, your 'mother' is also a reflection of your true nature?"
It is said that Zeng Mingcai forwarded a petition case one day. After reading it, Hu Zhongzhi was furious and could not help cursing "damn it". The directors of the two offices, who were in charge of both the Provincial Party Committee's Petition Office and the Provincial Government's Petition Office, were stunned when they heard it.
But Zeng Mingcai, the provincial party committee standing committee member and provincial party committee secretary, added fuel to the fire and started to curse, "These damn cadres are clearly smearing the party!"
The director of the Letters and Visits Bureau hurriedly lowered his head and observed a moment of silence for certain cadres.
Hu Jiao was also present at the time. Afterwards, he told Hu Jianguo about the incident. Hu Jianguo talked about it today and gave some appropriate advice.
Hu Zhongzhi chuckled, "Jiaojiao told you that? So straightforward, I just like Zeng Laocai's earthy nature, I can scold him whenever I want, are you going to make yourself sick? Don't tell me about your image, the Discipline Inspection Commission has sent me preliminary information yesterday, those guys are really lawless, Hu Jiao, please keep an eye on this matter for me and keep track of the progress of the case."
Hu Jiao was of course paying attention, as the incident happened in Sanmei County where Wu Hao was.
Sanmei County is a backward county under the jurisdiction of Nanhu City. Its economic development is too slow. Since it is close to the urban area of Nanhu City and has some old industries, since the restructuring of state-owned enterprises this year, the county's secretary has colluded with several coastal businessmen to embezzle state-owned assets, lower the actual price of assets, buy low and sell high. Preliminary investigation has found that the amount involved in the case is close to 100 million yuan.
What is even more infuriating is that after the restructuring of state-owned enterprise workers, not only did some workers not receive relevant subsidies, but several female workers partnered up to sell breakfast in the county town, developing the breakfast business, which has just started to pick up.
One of the female workers might be pretty, and the county party secretary inadvertently became lustful of her. He invited the female workers to a discussion, dinner, drink, and entertainment in the name of investigation and research, and then... he got aroused after drinking and raped the female worker.
The female worker was quite calm. When something happened, she kept silent and appeared to be obedient. However, she secretly prepared a pocket recorder and collected evidence over a period of time, finally obtaining enough evidence.
The result was submitted to the Nanhu Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection but fell on deaf ears. The female worker got the news from somewhere and ran away. After hiding for a while, she ran to the gate of the Provincial Party Committee in person and, together with dozens of others, held up a long banner to protest her injustice.
This revealed the truth behind the case.
Judging from the information currently available , Wu Hao was not implicated. As the county magistrate, he had a very difficult time in Sanmei and was suppressed to the point where he could not raise his head. The secretary was re-elected. It can be said that in the entire Sanmei County, Wu Hao, the county magistrate, was completely sidelined.
First he was an acting official, and then he was successfully elected. Wu Hao thought there would be no obstacles.
Who knows that after a while, if he is in step with the secretary, the work will go quite smoothly. If not, sorry, you say your words and we listen, but no one will execute and follow through.
Only then did Wu Hao realize that he had hit a wall.
But he had no choice. Not to mention taking the initiative, even arranging a driver became a problem.
The county magistrate became a decoration, and Wu Hao was unwilling to accept this. He contacted the county party secretary in a roundabout way through various channels, but the other party remained the same. The county magistrate still had his dignity on the surface, and he received all the treatment he deserved, but in private he had only one rule: he had to listen to the county party committee.
Wu Hao had no choice. If the government could not reflect the will of the county party committee, he could not move.
The Party Committee leads the government, and the Party Committee is not just making random moves, it has a basis. And there are different means and ways to complete many tasks.
The key lies in people.
It is understandable that Wu Hao wants to achieve his policy goals through people, but in Sanmei County, you can arrange jobs, but the promotion and appointment of cadres is out of the question.
After nearly two years, Wu Hao, the decoration, finally got his chance.
He obtained relevant evidence through Nanhu, an old acquaintance of his father. He originally thought that the other party would raise the white flag of surrender, but he did not expect it to cause a greater backlash.
That night, his residence and office were robbed and evidence was stolen. Fortunately, his secretary who had worked with him for two years could not bear it and informed him in advance.
Only then did he run away with the female worker and escape.
The key tape was not stolen. The female worker took the initiative to hand over the original tape out of gratitude for the fact that County Magistrate Wu personally took her away from danger. The female worker was indeed very smart and had long been prepared for the possibility of someone destroying the evidence.
Now Wu Hao became excited.
Since compromise is impossible and there's no chance for negotiation, I'll just fight to the death.
Anyway, there is no point in being a figurehead county magistrate in Sanmei, and this time the secretary took the initiative and used illegal means, so Wu Hao doesn't have to worry about the reputation afterwards.
Hu Zhongzhi instructed that the facts should be ascertained quickly and those involved in the violation must be dealt with strictly, promptly and severely.
Hu Jiao, however, fully confirmed the power of the Party Committee from this incident. He cleared his throat, feeling a little uncomfortable after not speaking for a long time, "Secretary, judging from the report of the Discipline Inspection Commission, the Sanmei incident this time has a lot of implications. The entire county Party Committee, except Wu Hao, is basically involved."
Hu Zhongzhi pointed at Hu Jianguo and said, "Minister, please pay attention to Wu Hao's next work arrangement. This man is restless, send him back to Tong County and beat him up."
Without waiting for Hu Jianguo to express his opinion, Hu Zhongzhi turned to Hu Jiao and said, "Go, bring my grandson here."
