Hu Jintao (hoo jin-tow) has been president of the People’s Republic of China since 2003. He’s also general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee and chairman of China’s Central Military Committee.
Everett is the first stop on his first state visit to the U.S. After spending Tuesday and Wednesday here and in Redmond, he’ll fly to Washington, D.C., for a state luncheon with President Bush.
Age: 63
Hometown: Jixi, Anhui Province. Anhui is a key agricultural province in southeast China, with a growing industrial base and a population of more than 59 million.
Education: Engineer who studied hydropower station hubs at Tsinghua University.
Career: Became president of the All-China Youth Federation in 1982, which started a series of appointments to higher government positions. In 1992, Hu was named to an important post in the Communist Party; then 49, he was viewed as the first of a new generation of leaders. Became vice president of China in 1998.
Personal: Met his wife, Liu Yongqing, in college. They have two adult children, a son and daughter.
Notable: In March, Hu introduced “Ba Rong, Ba Chi” (“Eight Honors and Disgraces”), described as a new concept of socialist morality by the official Xinhua news agency. The list urges Chinese to:
* Love the country; do it no harm.
* Serve the people; never betray them.
* Follow science; discard superstition.
* Be diligent; not indolent.
* Be united, help each other; make no gains at other’s expense.
* Be honest and trustworthy; do not spend ethics for profits.
* Be disciplined and law-abiding; not chaotic and lawless.
* Live plainly, work hard; do not wallow in luxuries and pleasures.
Source: People’s Daily, Xinhua
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