The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) has reportedly experienced a “political earthquake” in its Institute of Economics. The entire leadership was replaced due to allegations of “inappropriate discussions about the central government.” This marks another political incident at CASS following an “espionage case” over a decade ago.
The event was triggered by the alleged misconduct of Deputy Director Zhu Hengpeng, leading to a complete overhaul of the institute’s leadership. Zhu, 55, was also the director of CASS’s Public Policy Research Center, focusing on public hospital reforms and medical security systems.
By the end of last month, the institute’s director, party secretary, and deputy directors were all replaced. The CASS Party Committee appointed new leadership, including Gong Yun as party secretary, Li Xuesong as director and deputy party secretary, and Song Hong as deputy director.
CASS, China’s highest academic institution for philosophy and social sciences research, also serves as a central think tank and ideological center. This incident follows a previous espionage case involving two CASS researchers over a decade ago.
Beijing officials frequently emphasize that CASS is “first and foremost a political organ, with political nature as its primary attribute and political consciousness as its foremost requirement.”
Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), September 16, 2024
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202409160031.aspx