Since the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2012, several accomplished Chinese systems engineers from the China Aerospace Science and Technology (CASC) and China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) have been promoted to take on provincial leadership positions. The rise of technocrats in Chinese politics is certainly not a new phenomenon. Tracing back to influential figures such as Qian Xuesen and Ding Henggao, China’s space and missile industry has enjoyed high political standing since the late 1950s. Engineer-politicians dominated the CCP’s leadership during the Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao years.
However, Xi Jinping’s Politburo Standing Committee today only sees Xi himself with a questionable engineering background while all six other members are “political theorists or economists.” The re-emergence of a possible “aerospace clique (航天系)” in CCP politics under Xi’s reign is of particular interest yet largely escaped notice. Who are they? What are the political implications?
Zhang Hongwen: From YJ-18 to Anhui
A former deputy director of the China Aerospace Science & Industry Corporation Limited (CASIC), Zhang Hongwen, was assigned as a vice governor of Anhui Province in September 2020. He was elected as a member of the provincial Party Committee in November 2021 and carries a provincial/ministerial-level civil service grade. His vice governor portfolio includes military-civil fusion and promotion of technological innovation.
He is frequently seen inspecting provincial industrial enterprises, promoting Xi’s S&T directives, and pressing for the commercialization of technology innovation. Zhang also oversees major research programs at universities in Anhui, such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Hefei Institute of Physical Science. In April 2021, Zhang inspected artificial intelligence work being carried out at the renowned University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei. In December, he convened the second China Fusion Energy Conference, an event co-hosted by China Academy of Engineering Physics, China’s sole supplier of nuclear weapons to the People’s Liberation Army.
Before his assignment to Anhui, Zhang served as a deputy director of CASIC and directed the CASIC Third Academy, which is responsible for research, development, production, and sustainment of cruise missiles. A native of Shaanxi province, Zhang was awarded a doctorate degree from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in launch vehicle design. He spent most of his career working within the Third Academy’s Third Design Department and was assigned increasingly greater responsibility for cruise missile systems engineering, allegedly including serving as deputy chief designer for the Yingji-18 (YJ-18) supersonic anti-ship cruise missile. Zhang reportedly went on stage to receive the prestigious National Science and Technology (S&T) Progress Special Grade Award in 2017, alongside Zhu Kun and Li Lixin, the chief designer and program manager of the project, respectively.
Ma Xingrui: Aerospace Spirit Shines Over Xinjiang
If Zhang Hongwen represents future leaders of the “aerospace clique,” Ma Xingrui may inch closer to the CCP’s center of gravity much sooner. Dubbed the “Aerospace Marshall (航天少帅),” Ma succeededChen Quanguo as secretary of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region party committee in December 2021. Ma’s assignment to a politically charged position at this time suggests central party organs in Beijing place significant trust in him.
Before his current assignment in Xinjiang, Ma served as governor of Guangdong, one of China’s wealthiest provinces. Before his assignment to Guangdong, he directed the State Administration for Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) and the China National Space Administration (CNSA). He served concurrently as a vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. A native of Heilongjiang, he was a researcher at the Harbin Institute of Technology before his 1996 assignment to the CASC Fifth Academy, also known as the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST). While at CAST, Ma served concurrently as program manager and chief designer of the chief designer and chief administrator of the Shijian-5 satellite and helped managed the Chang’e-3 lunar exploration program.
Below is a list of aerospace politicians who are currently active in the Chinese political systems. The Chinese definition of “aerospace” may be limited to space and missiles; aviation is treated as a different and separate system. This list, however, uses “aerospace” in a Western sense that covers “everything that flies,” and includes key figures in Chinese aviation for references purposes.
List of Chinese Aerospace-Politicians (as of February 2022)
Standing committee member of Shaanxi (2021-) Deputy governor of Shaanxi (2020-)
N/A
The Political Logic Behind an “Aerospace Clique”
The re-emergence of an “aerospace clique” largely happened between the 18th and 19th Party Congress as Xi Jinping consolidated his absolute power within the CCP. What are the political assessments of this phenomenon?
First, the nuclear, space, and missile industries carry significant prestige in China, so the promotion of an “aerospace clique” helps boost the CCP’s legitimacy. Xi’s pursuit of the Chinese “space dream” has paid political dividends to those who worked to advance his agenda. Almost all of the current aerospace-politicians listed above either played direct or supervisory role in the development and implementation of key aerospace programs, such as China’s manned space, lunar exploration, or, in Zhang Qingwei’s case, the C919 “big aircraft” project, and for Zhang Hongwen, systems engineering leadership for the YJ-18. Political appointees from CASC tend to dominate. Yuan Jiajun, Zhang Qingwei, Ma Xingrui, and Xu Dazhe all served as senior executives of CASC prior to their career transitions into provincial politics.
Second, from an organizational point of view, transplanting aerospace technocrats into provincial government possibly helps reduce nepotism and corruption at the local level. Aerospace engineers and project managers have long worked in relatively shielded environment with fewer interactions with local politics and interest groups. Moreover, their broad exposure to how Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) function also brings them practical experience that is readily translatable to the management of industrial enterprises at the provincial level. Their defense industry experiences also make them perfect agents to facilitate and implement Xi Jinping’s MCF strategy at the provincial level, as Zhang Hongwen demonstrates.
Third, the making of an “aerospace clique” might help reduce promotion pressure within the CASC and CASIC system. Although this is largely speculative, the high tempo, prevalent nepotism, and cut-throat competition within Chinese SOEs likely fuels discontent. Creating more pathways for aerospace engineers to advance in their career ladder may help with morale and stability of the workforce.
SOE executives moving into local politics is not a phenomenon unique to the aerospace industry. Shipbuilding conglomerate China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) has produced at least two deputy provincial governors in recent years. Both born in the 1960s, Guo Xiwen currently serves in Guizhou, while Tan Zuojun, formerly a deputy governor and party standing committee member of Liaoning, currently works as Hao Peng’s deputy at SASAC. Xie Weijiang, with a power and electric industry background, was appointed a deputy governor of Hunan in 2020.
Conclusion
The upcoming 20th Party Congress will serve as the ultimate test for the prowess of the nascent “aerospace clique” in CCP politics. For China, aerospace is both substance and symbol. It not only showcases marvelous technological advancements to earn the CCP respect and influence externally, but “aerospace spirit” – often associated with traits such as diligence, precision, and sacrifice – has become a political symbol in Xi Jinping’s politics. The upward mobility of aerospace-politicians in recent years provided useful insights into a possible, albeit limited, rejuvenation of technocracy in an era that increasingly prioritizes ideology over meritocracy. May a cool-headed and pragmatic “aerospace clique” prevail over the ideologues.
The author thanks Mark Stokes, Dennis Blasko, Ken Allen, and Lt. Col. Justin Settles for useful comments on previous drafts.
NEW YORK (AP) — In a new video posted early Election Day, Beyoncé channels Pamela Anderson in the television program “Baywatch” – red one-piece swimsuit and all – and asks viewers to vote.
In the two-and-a-half-minute clip, set to most of “Bodyguard,” a four-minute cut from her 2024 country album “Cowboy Carter,” Beyoncé cosplays as Anderson’s character before concluding with a simple message, written in white text: “Happy Beylloween,” followed by “Vote.”
At a rally for Donald Trump in Pittsburgh on Monday night, the former president spoke dismissively about Beyoncé’s appearance at a Kamala Harris rally in Houston in October, drawing boos for the megastar from his supporters.
“Beyoncé would come in. Everyone’s expecting a couple of songs. There were no songs. There was no happiness,” Trump said.
She did not perform — unlike in 2016, when she performed at a presidential campaign rally for Hillary Clinton in Cleveland – but she endorsed Harris and gave a moving speech, initially joined onstage by her Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland.
“I’m not here as a celebrity, I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother,” Beyoncé said.
“A mother who cares deeply about the world my children and all of our children live in, a world where we have the freedom to control our bodies, a world where we’re not divided,” she said at the rally in Houston, her hometown.
“Imagine our daughters growing up seeing what’s possible with no ceilings, no limitations,” she continued. “We must vote, and we need you.”
Harris used the song in July during her first official public appearance as a presidential candidate at her campaign headquarters in Delaware. That same month, Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, publicly endorsed Harris for president.
Beyoncé gave permission to Harris to use the song, a campaign official who was granted anonymity to discuss private campaign operations confirmed to The Associated Press.
Outside of sports and a “Cold front coming down from Canada,” American news media only report on Canadian events that they believe are, or will be, influential to the US. Therefore, when Justin Trudeau’s announcement, having finally read the room, that Canada will be reducing the number of permanent residents admitted by more than 20 percent and temporary residents like skilled workers and college students will be cut by more than half made news south of the border, I knew the American media felt Trudeau’s about-face on immigration was newsworthy because many Americans would relate to Trudeau realizing Canada was accepting more immigrants than it could manage and are hoping their next POTUS will follow Trudeau’s playbook.
Canada, with lots of space and lacking convenient geographical ways for illegal immigrants to enter the country, though still many do, has a global reputation for being incredibly accepting of immigrants. On the surface, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver appear to be multicultural havens. However, as the saying goes, “Too much of a good thing is never good,” resulting in a sharp rise in anti-immigrant sentiment, which you can almost taste in the air. A growing number of Canadians, regardless of their political affiliation, are blaming recent immigrants for causing the housing affordability crises, inflation, rise in crime and unemployment/stagnant wages.
Throughout history, populations have engulfed themselves in a tribal frenzy, a psychological state where people identify strongly with their own group, often leading to a ‘us versus them’ mentality. This has led to quick shifts from complacency to panic and finger-pointing at groups outside their tribe, a phenomenon that is not unique to any particular culture or time period.
My take on why the American news media found Trudeau’s blatantly obvious attempt to save his political career, balancing appeasement between the pitchfork crowd, who want a halt to immigration until Canada gets its house in order, and immigrant voters, who traditionally vote Liberal, newsworthy; the American news media, as do I, believe immigration fatigue is why Kamala Harris is going to lose on November 5th.
Because they frequently get the outcome wrong, I don’t take polls seriously. According to polls in 2014, Tim Hudak’s Progressive Conservatives and Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals were in a dead heat in Ontario, yet Wynne won with more than twice as many seats. In the 2018 Quebec election, most polls had the Coalition Avenir Québec with a 1-to-5-point lead over the governing Liberals. The result: The Coalition Avenir Québec enjoyed a landslide victory, winning 74 of 125 seats. Then there’s how the 2016 US election polls showing Donald Trump didn’t have a chance of winning against Hillary Clinton were ridiculously way off, highlighting the importance of the election day poll and, applicable in this election as it was in 2016, not to discount ‘shy Trump supporters;’ voters who support Trump but are hesitant to express their views publicly due to social or political pressure.
My distrust in polls aside, polls indicate Harris is leading by a few points. One would think that Trump’s many over-the-top shenanigans, which would be entertaining were he not the POTUS or again seeking the Oval Office, would have him far down in the polls. Trump is toe-to-toe with Harris in the polls because his approach to the economy—middle-class Americans are nostalgic for the relatively strong economic performance during Trump’s first three years in office—and immigration, which Americans are hyper-focused on right now, appeals to many Americans. In his quest to win votes, Trump is doing what anyone seeking political office needs to do: telling the people what they want to hear, strategically using populism—populism that serves your best interests is good populism—to evoke emotional responses. Harris isn’t doing herself any favours, nor moving voters, by going the “But, but… the orange man is bad!” route, while Trump cultivates support from “weird” marginal voting groups.
To Harris’s credit, things could have fallen apart when Biden abruptly stepped aside. Instead, Harris quickly clinched the nomination and had a strong first few weeks, erasing the deficit Biden had given her. The Democratic convention was a success, as was her acceptance speech. Her performance at the September 10th debate with Donald Trump was first-rate.
Harris’ Achilles heel is she’s now making promises she could have made and implemented while VP, making immigration and the economy Harris’ liabilities, especially since she’s been sitting next to Biden, watching the US turn into the circus it has become. These liabilities, basically her only liabilities, negate her stance on abortion, democracy, healthcare, a long-winning issue for Democrats, and Trump’s character. All Harris has offered voters is “feel-good vibes” over substance. In contrast, Trump offers the tangible political tornado (read: steamroll the problems Americans are facing) many Americans seek. With Trump, there’s no doubt that change, admittedly in a messy fashion, will happen. If enough Americans believe the changes he’ll implement will benefit them and their country…
The case against Harris on immigration, at a time when there’s a huge global backlash to immigration, even as the American news media are pointing out, in famously immigrant-friendly Canada, is relatively straightforward: During the first three years of the Biden-Harris administration, illegal Southern border crossings increased significantly.
The words illegal immigration, to put it mildly, irks most Americans. On the legal immigration front, according to Forbes, most billion-dollar startups were founded by immigrants. Google, Microsoft, and Oracle, to name three, have immigrants as CEOs. Immigrants, with tech skills and an entrepreneurial thirst, have kept America leading the world. I like to think that Americans and Canadians understand the best immigration policy is to strategically let enough of these immigrants in who’ll increase GDP and tax base and not rely on social programs. In other words, Americans and Canadians, and arguably citizens of European countries, expect their governments to be more strategic about immigration.
The days of the words on a bronze plaque mounted inside the Statue of Liberty pedestal’s lower level, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” are no longer tolerated. Americans only want immigrants who’ll benefit America.
Does Trump demagogue the immigration issue with xenophobic and racist tropes, many of which are outright lies, such as claiming Haitian immigrants in Ohio are abducting and eating pets? Absolutely. However, such unhinged talk signals to Americans who are worried about the steady influx of illegal immigrants into their country that Trump can handle immigration so that it’s beneficial to the country as opposed to being an issue of economic stress.
In many ways, if polls are to be believed, Harris is paying the price for Biden and her lax policies early in their term. Yes, stimulus spending quickly rebuilt the job market, but at the cost of higher inflation. Loosen border policies at a time when anti-immigrant sentiment was increasing was a gross miscalculation, much like Trudeau’s immigration quota increase, and Biden indulging himself in running for re-election should never have happened.
If Trump wins, Democrats will proclaim that everyone is sexist, racist and misogynous, not to mention a likely White Supremacist, and for good measure, they’ll beat the “voter suppression” button. If Harris wins, Trump supporters will repeat voter fraud—since July, Elon Musk has tweeted on Twitter at least 22 times about voters being “imported” from abroad—being widespread.
Regardless of who wins tomorrow, Americans need to cool down; and give the divisive rhetoric a long overdue break. The right to an opinion belongs to everyone. Someone whose opinion differs from yours is not by default sexist, racist, a fascist or anything else; they simply disagree with you. Americans adopting the respectful mindset to agree to disagree would be the best thing they could do for the United States of America.
PHOENIX (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent proponent of debunked public health claims whom Donald Trump has promised to put in charge of health initiatives, said Saturday that Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office if elected president.
Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century.
Kennedy made the declaration Saturday on the social media platform X alongside a variety of claims about the heath effects of fluoride.
“On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water,” Kennedy wrote. Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, “want to Make America Healthy Again,” he added, repeating a phrase Trump often uses and links to Kennedy.
Trump told NBC News on Sunday that he had not spoken to Kennedy about fluoride yet, “but it sounds OK to me. You know it’s possible.”
The former president declined to say whether he would seek a Cabinet role for Kennedy, a job that would require Senate confirmation, but added, “He’s going to have a big role in the administration.”
Asked whether banning certain vaccines would be on the table, Trump said he would talk to Kennedy and others about that. Trump described Kennedy as “a very talented guy and has strong views.”
The sudden and unexpected weekend social media post evoked the chaotic policymaking that defined Trump’s White House tenure, when he would issue policy declarations on Twitter at virtually all hours. It also underscored the concerns many experts have about Kennedy, who has long promoted debunked theories about vaccine safety, having influence over U.S. public health.
In 1950, federal officials endorsed water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay, and continued to promote it even after fluoride toothpaste brands hit the market several years later. Though fluoride can come from a number of sources, drinking water is the main source for Americans, researchers say.
Officials lowered their recommendation for drinking water fluoride levels in 2015 to address a tooth condition called fluorosis, that can cause splotches on teeth and was becoming more common in U.S. kids.
In August, a federal agency determined “with moderate confidence” that there is a link between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in kids. The National Toxicology Program based its conclusion on studies involving fluoride levels at about twice the recommended limit for drinking water.
A federal judge later cited that study in ordering the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to further regulate fluoride in drinking water. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen cautioned that it’s not certain that the amount of fluoride typically added to water is causing lower IQ in kids, but he concluded that mounting research points to an unreasonable risk that it could be. He ordered the EPA to take steps to lower that risk, but didn’t say what those measures should be.
In his X post Saturday, Kennedy tagged Michael Connett, the lead attorney representing the plaintiff in that lawsuit, the environmental advocacy group Food & Water Watch.
Kennedy’s anti-vaccine organization has a lawsuit pending against news organizations including The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy is on leave from the group but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.
What role Kennedy might hold if Trump wins on Tuesday remains unclear. Kennedy recently told NewsNation that Trump asked him to “reorganize” agencies including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and some agencies under the Department of Agriculture.
But for now, the former independent presidential candidate has become one of Trump’s top surrogates. Trump frequently mentions having the support of Kennedy, a scion of a Democratic dynasty and the son of former Attorney General Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy.
Kennedy traveled with Trump Friday and spoke at his rallies in Michigan and Wisconsin.
Trump said Saturday that he told Kennedy: “You can work on food, you can work on anything you want” except oil policy.
“He wants health, he wants women’s health, he wants men’s health, he wants kids, he wants everything,” Trump added.
