Li Hongzhong
Born in Shenyang, Li spent much of his early career in Guangdong province, including as mayor, then party secretary of Shenzhen.[4] In May 2007, in an interview with Southern Metropolis News, Li rejected calls to end Shenzen's special economic zone after the National People's Congress decided to standardize the corporate income tax rate throughout China, which some said diminished the SEZs purpose.[2][4] In a 2014 article at the People's Daily, Li wrote about his understanding of Xi's book Zhijiang Xinyu, calling it a "glorious chapter" of Marxism.[11] The incident was widely reported in Chinese media, but Li refused to apologize to Liu Jie, stating that she stuttered when he asked her which newspaper she represented, and that he was unsure about her identity.[11] A week later, at least 210 intellectuals and journalists, including dramatist Sha Yexin, scholars Cui Weiping and Hu Yong, and the prominent former People's Daily editor Zhou Ruijin, signed an open letter demanding Li to resign.In July 2023, Li was part of a Chinese delegation that traveled to North Korea to commemorate the Korean Armistice Agreement.