On June 19, the website of the Supervision Department of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection announced the news of the fall of two provincial and ministerial officials in Shanxi almost at the same time.
Surprisingly, Du Shanxue, the former member of the Standing Committee of Shanxi Provincial Committee and vice governor, was robbed of all the limelight by the then vice chairman of Shanxi Provincial Political Consultative Conference, and almost no one paid attention to this native Shanxi leader.
Du Shanxue, 58, is from Linyi County, Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province. He has been an official for more than 30 years, and at every stage, he has been promoted step by step by grasping the policy direction and keeping the pulse of the times, and gradually got the evaluation of "smart people".
In the process of promotion, he used "article road" to clear the way, "image card" as a foothold, and "Zhouyi Gua" as an escort, and then acted step by step.
Until the fall of the horse, Du Shanxue was still diligent in writing political articles and making intensive public appearances. It was noticed that the tail end of his unique broom eyebrow had turned white.
After the fall of the horse, many people familiar with him reflected on his ups and downs. Du Shanxue calculated the beginning and process, but he didn’t guess his own result.
Win favor with an article
Du Shanxue’s official career began with an article.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, at the beginning of reform and opening up, all walks of life in China were in urgent need of talents. In the spring of 1982, Du Shanxue, who graduated from the Accounting Department of Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, joined the Shanxi Provincial Finance and Trade Committee as the first batch of graduates after resuming the college entrance examination.
"’Xiao Du’ is very clever and has a good business." A colleague of Du Shanxue recalled that the young man from Yuncheng wore a pair of glasses, and he was always smiling and good at talking. He read books and newspapers when he had nothing to do.
Du Shanxue, then 26, was also trying to show his "good business".
In September, 1982, the Twelfth National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held, which put forward the financial concept of "a game of chess in the whole country", and suggested that the proportion of central and local fiscal revenues and the proportion of corporate profits should be appropriately adjusted according to the actual situation of industries in different regions. Based on the situation in Shanxi Province, Du Shanxue wrote the article "Discussion on Management of Extra-budgetary Funds" and published it in the first journal of Shanxi University of Finance and Economics in 1983.
Three months after the article was published, Du Shanxue was transferred to the third office of the General Office of Shanxi Provincial People’s Government. A veteran cadre who has been immersed in Shanxi officialdom for many years recalled that at that time, young people who could write and do things were very popular. Du Shanxue, who worked in the provincial government, is still popular because of his "agility".
Since then, the habit of "writing articles" has run through Du Shanxue’s entire political career.
According to the statistics of public information, Du Shanxue served as the deputy director of Shanxi Provincial Department of Finance for 10 years, and published more than 10 articles in 7 periodicals such as Shanxi Finance and Economics, Finance and Market, and led a team to study the topic of "Enlightenment of Shanxi Banks on Modern Financial Risk Prevention".
Since then, Du Shanxue has published three works in five years in Changzhi municipal government, seven works in three years in Changzhi city, three works in one year in Lvliang Municipal Committee, and six works in three years after becoming a member of the Standing Committee of Shanxi Provincial Committee.
"His articles always follow the political trend." A Shanxi official who knows him well said that from the 12th National Congress to the 18th National Congress, it has been a compulsory course for Du Shanxue to find the "wind direction" from policies and documents for more than 30 years.
Du Shanxue’s "topical articles on current politics" will lead the implementation time of specific policies from time to time, and most of his administrative methods are in line with the political mainstream.
In 2000, when financial departments all over the country took the implementation of government procurement system as a way to deepen the reform of fiscal expenditure management, Du Shanxue’s article "Government Procurement and Building a Clean Government" had been published for more than a year.
After "Scientific Outlook on Development" was put forward, Du Shanxue also promoted "green development" in Changzhi, trying to make Changzhi a rare city with fine features in Shanxi, a big coal province.
Smell the wind to plant trees.
According to a person familiar with Shanxi officialdom, Shanxi is a big province with coal resources, and there are few cities with "fine features". We have worked hard on the image of the city and achieved quick results in political achievements.
After Du Shanxue was in charge of Changzhi, he gradually explored this "road of political achievements". This has also become the focus of his administration during his administration of Changzhi and Lvliang.
In February 2003, Du Shanxue came to Changzhi, served as deputy secretary of the municipal party committee, and became mayor of Changzhi a month later.
At the beginning of 2003, Changzhi just sent away Lv Rizhou, a former party secretary with personal heroism. During Lv Rizhou’s three years in Changzhi, he created a unique way of governance, such as the Changzhi Daily criticized officials by name, the government did not set up a fence, and rode to the countryside. For a time, Changzhi and Lv Rizhou became an inseparable whole.
Du Shanxue, who first arrived in Changzhi, was looking for a breakthrough for himself in the post-Lv Rizhou era.
Yang Lin (not his real name), an official of Changzhi City, said that in Shanxi, Changzhi did not have the advantage of playing the economic card and eating energy meals, and Du Shanxue also made such an attempt.
Yang Lin said that Du Shanxue didn’t smoke or drink at that time, and he was preoccupied with political achievements. After the Third Plenary Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee, "Scientific Outlook on Development" came into public view. Therefore, in October 2004, Du Shanxue’s book Promoting the All-round Development of Government Work with Scientific Outlook on Development was published.
Yang Lin said that at that time, Du Shanxue only grasped the key policy points and put forward the slogan of "Green Changzhi", which was after 2005.
In 2005, Du Shanxue’s article "Harmony and Development of Building a Charming City with Strength" was published. In the article, based on the national strategic background of "the rise of central China" and the development direction of "circular economy", he proposed to inject "circular economy" into industrial development, and made predictions for the development of Changzhi according to the plans of Bohai Economic Belt, Longhai Economic Belt and the Central Plains Economic Development Circle that was not yet formed at that time.
Du Shanxue’s political sense of smell was praised again. Since then, the slogan of "Green Changzhi" has made Changzhi begin to attract attention.
"Look at so many trees in Changzhi, all of which were transplanted by Lao Du at that time." Yang Lin said that in 2006, the Changzhi Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government issued the document "Building a First-class Forestry Ecological City in the Province". By the end of 2008, "100,000 Trees" began to enter the city vigorously.
Shanxi Evening News once reported that Changzhi invested 50 million yuan to transplant 100,000 trees into the urban area. The main tree species were Sophora japonica, willow and fatong, and their DBH was above 10 cm.
Many Changzhi citizens recalled that there were suddenly many trees in Changzhi, which made it inconvenient for them to drive. For example, because there were many trees, it was inconvenient for cars to enter and exit. Finally, these trees that occupied the place were removed.
Du Shanxue wrote a special article in 2010 to summarize the Changzhi greening project represented by "trees entering the city".
In the article, he wrote that since 2006, the Changzhi Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government has raised 1.87 billion yuan for greening, mainly from government investment and environmental restoration and governance deposits of coal enterprises. Among them, the financial investment at the city and county levels is 1.66 billion yuan.
These investments have brought Changzhi the titles of national garden city and national forest city.
Based on "image card"
Du Shanxue, who was encouraged by the "image card", continued to maintain and expand this style, just as he got the opportunity from "making a fuss".
In June 2008, the whole country was preparing for the Olympic security, and Changzhi was no exception.
On the morning of June 5th of that year, Du Shanxue, then secretary of Changzhi Municipal Party Committee, stood on an open-top military vehicle with his feet, and slowly passed by the main road in front of Bayi Square in Changzhi City, inspecting the police and armed police teams standing on the side of the street. In his own way, he recorded the "Changzhi-style Olympic security drill".
Deng Xin (not his real name), a politician from Changzhi, who is close to Du Shanxue, said that on June 5, 2008, in order to match the national Olympic spirit, Changzhi held an Olympic security swearing-in meeting. The leaders of the municipal party committee and the municipal public security system conducted a comprehensive review of the police, fire fighting and armed police teams in Changzhi, and each team also performed their skills in anti-terrorism, riot prevention, fire fighting and traffic command.
Now, on the website of Changzhi municipal government, you can also find graphic records about this "swearing-in meeting". In the published picture, the military vehicle where Du Shanxue stood was labeled as "Reading Police Car". After the vehicle where he was standing, Bo Li, then director of Changzhi Public Security Bureau, stood in the reading police car and accompanied him with a military salute.
Later, Deng Xin looked up the information about the Olympic security drills conducted all over the country on the eve of the 2008 Olympic Games. At that time, the "Olympic security drills" held in Chongqing, Jinan, Shenyang and other places were all conducted in a relatively closed space, such as anti-terrorism and security drills. Unlike Changzhi City, the city leaders were not allowed to inspect dozens of square teams.
"Lao Du has a good face and likes to use’ form’ to express his work." Deng Xin said that Changzhi and Lvliang’s "Sweeping the City Movement" can best reflect his characteristics.
In order to enhance the image of the city, the doorways of street shops in Changzhi City should be changed into "white boxes with red (blue, yellow) background and white characters", and government units should divide regional contracting tasks and be responsible for the doorways replacement of merchants in their respective regions. Merchants only need to pay the money to the responsible person designated by the government, and the price ranges from 4000 to 7000 yuan.
Merchants specializing in this kind of billboards in Changzhi said that the billboards that the government requested to be replaced have a frame and a bottom, which belongs to the high cost of advertising doorplates. It would be more economical to find a doorplate vendor for this kind of billboards. The merchant said that the merchant who changed the house number at that time was not local to Changzhi.
Changzhi City, which pays attention to image, was rated as "National Civilized City" in 2011. It was also in this year that Du Shanxue was transferred to the post of Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee of Lvliang.
"My previous leaders of the municipal party committee have developed the economy very well, so my job is to improve the living environment for the people of Lvliang." This is what Du Shanxue said to the media when Lvliang took office.
Finding his feeling from the "image card", he launched a massive "three rectification" campaign in Lvliang, namely, environmental sanitation, street decoration and traffic order.
"Being neat and beautiful is the requirement of’ Lao Du’." A citizen of Lvliang said that at that time, doors were being torn down, plaques were being changed and walls were being painted everywhere in Lvliang Avenue.
This citizen has witnessed the discoloration of a wall several times: at first, it was painted white, then it turned gray, then it was pink, then it was ugly and changed to white, and finally it was painted gray.
An insider close to the Lvliang Municipal Government said that the "three rectifications" also emphasized accountability and publicity.
At that time, the main leaders of the urban areas and counties in Lvliang signed a written pledge to fulfill a military order, and all units took the lead in the environmental remediation activities in the contracted areas. Due to the ineffective actions of the "three remediation", Lvliang City also punished many county-level cadres, and Du Shanxue was called the "sweeping iron hand" secretary locally.
In July, 2011, Lvliang also held a live observation meeting on "Three Remedies" in Shanxi Province, inviting the media to visit.
According to a media person who participated in the report at that time, Du Shanxue attached great importance to the media propaganda of "three rectifications" in Lvliang. When having dinner with reporters, he specially got up and toasted one by one, encouraging reporters to "write Lvliang skillfully".
However, in view of the "three rectifications" activities in Lvliang, some people in the legal profession have publicly questioned in the "Democracy and Legal Times" that in the process of "three rectifications", the rule of man is greater than the rule of law, which is inconsistent with the Administrative Law and the Property Law. Therefore, the legal profession believes that Du Shanxue is too eager for quick success and instant benefit.
An uncertain ending
Ten months later, Du Shanxue, who "swept" a city, became a member of the Standing Committee of Shanxi Provincial Committee in the midst of controversy, and three months later, Du Shanxue became the Secretary General of Shanxi Provincial Committee.
Du Shanxue, who walked through the "article road" and played the "image card", finally ushered in the peak of his career.
During this period, a person who once worked with Du Shanxue said that Du Shanxue, a member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and Secretary-General, was not as good-tempered as he used to be in Changzhi and Lvliang, and often openly criticized his subordinates, leaving many jobs in a passive situation. "He was restless every day and believed in Zhouyi."
The Paper learned that Du Shanxue was interested in Zhouyi as early as during his administration of Changzhi. According to an insider, Du Shanxue pays special attention to "how to walk" besides paying attention to the placement of tables and chairs and the orientation of flowers and plants.
The insider said that Du Shanxue believed in a "master" from Henan, and he would ask the master to help him figure out the driving route. Sometimes he felt unlucky on the conventional walking route, so he would take a divination or ask the "master" which way to take.
A Changzhi official who had followed Du Shanxue to the countryside for investigation revealed to The Paper that Du Shanxue sometimes changed its route and it was very puzzling.
At 6 o’clock in the morning of November 14th, 2005, on the Fen (Yang)-Tun (Liu) Highway in Guodao Town, Qinyuan County, Changzhi City, many teachers and students of a class in Qinyuan No.2 Middle School were crushed to death by a large truck that came at a gallop during morning exercise.
At that time, Du Shanxue, the mayor of Changzhi, went to inspect the situation. "They started from Changzhi at 8: 00 a.m. and drove to the scene of the accident for one hour at most, but the motorcade led by Du Shanxue made a detour and went to a nearby village for investigation, and arrived at the scene of the accident near 11: 00 noon."
The Changzhi official recalled, "At that time, everyone thought that it was estimated that the mayor was afraid that the scene was too miserable to watch."
"Du Shanxue has always been cautious. Over the years, he has indeed formed his own politics." Another person close to the Shanxi provincial government said that with the extension of his official term, Du Shanxue could no longer find a sense of security by "analyzing policies" in his early years, and he had to rely on the culture and experience he believed in.
The culture that Du Shanxue believes in is Zhouyi, and the accumulated experience over the years is "making achievements and showing more".
Du Shanxue, who returned to work as a member of the Standing Committee of Shanxi Provincial Party Committee, still kept writing. In less than two years, he wrote six articles, covering issues such as "maintaining the purity of the party" and "doing a good job in letters and visits".
In February 2014, under the background of "practical education of the Party’s mass line", Du Shanxue published the article "Make good use of the bottom line thinking" to discuss how to serve the people pragmatically and honestly.
Thirty-one years ago in the spring, Du Shanxue was transferred to the general office of the provincial government three months after he published the article "Discussion on Budget Funds Outside Management".
Thirty-one years later, it was still spring. As a member of the Standing Committee of Shanxi Provincial Party Committee and deputy governor, three months after he published this article "Make Good Use of Bottom Line Thinking", the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection announced the news of his fall.
This time, he has been working hard in the officialdom for more than 30 years, and his sense of smell is still sensitive, but his accuracy is reduced.
The above-mentioned people close to the Shanxi provincial government said that at one time, when Du Shanxue met people outside the officialdom, he strictly demanded one-on-one, and some people noticed in public reports that his broom-shaped eyebrows began to turn white.
After Du Shanxue was taken away, some retired veteran cadres who were familiar with him said, "This smart man, after 30 years, is not bad in the front and middle, but he has no pulse of’ anti-corruption’."