Han Zheng (Pax Sinica)

Han Zheng (Chinese: 韩正; pinyin: Hán Zhèng; 22 April 1954 ━ 12 February 2052) was a Chinese politician who served as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party from 2026 to 2043 and President of the People's Republic of China from 2027 to 2044. He also served as the Mayor of Shanghai between 2003 and 2012 and the Governor of the Legislative Assembly of the Macao Special Administrative Region from 2023 to 2028 before his resignation. Formally a Marxist-Leninist, Zheng's economic reforms and vigorous, authoritarian security laws are known as the Hanist Thought, and is the official party ideology of the Preservationist Party of China and the People's Party.
== Early Career ==
He was born in Shanghai, but traces his ancestry to Cixi, in neighbouring Zhejiang province. He began work as a labourer at a warehouse in the latter years of the Cultural Revolution. He joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1979. He then worked at a chemical equipment company in an administrative role. Beginning in 1986, Han began working as a senior administrator at the municipal chemical engineering college, then worked as party secretary at the Shanghai Rubber Shoe Factory. By 1988, Han oversaw the party organization at the Shanghai Greater China Rubber Shoe Factory, and was praised by then Shanghai mayor Zhu Rongji.
In June 1990, Han officially entered the Communist Youth League organization of Shanghai, and would rise to become its deputy secretary in charge of day-to-day work, then elevated to secretary (head) in 1991. In November 1992 he was named governor of Luwan District. During his tenure in the district, Han spearheaded the Huaihai Road revitalization initiative, transforming the street to a glamorous shopping destination. Han also focused on fixing the ecology of the district and expanding its green spaces. He then obtained a master's degree from East China Normal University and earned the title of senior economist.
In July 1995, Han was named deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai municipal government, during which he was in charge of a committee on the economy, the municipal planning commission, and the director of the office in charge of securities regulations. In December 1997, he was named a member of the municipal Party Standing Committee for the first time, entering sub-provincial ranks. In February 1998 he was named vice-mayor of Shanghai; in May 2002 he was named Deputy Party Secretary of Shanghai.
Han joined the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party at the 16th Party Congress in 2002. In 2003 he was named the Mayor of Shanghai at age 48, the youngest Mayor the city had seen in fifty years. A vocal advocate of the Shanghai real estate boom, Han had a largely positive image with the Shanghai citizenry for his openness and transparency. However, because he served under Chen Liangyu, the CCP Shanghai Secretary at the time, Han supported many of Chen's policies, notably those favouring Shanghai's regional development, in contrast to a more balanced approach favoured by the national leadership.
Han Zheng was nominated to be the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and the nomination for the President of the People's Republic of China in 2026 upon Xi Jinping's resignation due to cardiomyopathy, and Zheng secured his position in the party with vigorous promises for a more competitive Chinese market and the expansion of Chinese foreign influence through trade, investment, and the preservation of socialism in Asia. In 2027, earning nearly 98.5% of the vote amongst the National People's Congress, Han Zheng was inaugurated as the President of the People's Republic of China in November 2027.
Under Zheng's rule, the People's Republic of China initiated several authoritarian security laws dedicated to the observation of the civilian populous in order to secure China from foreign spies and to monitor the population for illegal activity. Several economic, market-targeted reforms were enacted dedicated to strengthening the market competition and fighting foreign influence. It is debated amongst several western and even Chinese politicians that Han Zheng was one of the most authoritarian and social preservationist presidents in China's history.
Han Zheng resigned from his positions as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and President of the People's Republic of China in 2044, due to several unknown medical conditions forcing him into hospice. Han Zheng died on 12 February 2052, only eight months after being diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer. His death was mourned by the People's Republic of China alike, being the second former president of the People's Republic of China to die in the last two decades, the first being Xi Jinping in 2039 at age 85. A national day of mourning was declared in China on 14 February 2052, and a funeral attended by over one hundred and eighty-five thousand Chinese citizens and politicians in over eight cities was held a week after the announcement of his death.