abstract
| - Jìn Pài Nài (ㄐㄧㄣ ㄆㄞ ㄋㄞ; 18th February 1949) is a Manchurian politician who served as the Premier from 2002 to 2014. He was also the Chairman of the Manzuxiehui from 1989 to 2002, and the Chairman of the Zuigaohuiyi from 1990 to 1995. Prior to becoming involved in politics he was a military officer within the Manchu People's Army. Jin was born in Harbin in 1949 in abject poverty. His father died during the Korean War leading him to be raised by his mother and grandfather. Jin however excelled in his studies graduating from Heilongjiang University in 1960. Jin went on to serve in the Manchu People's Army where he excelled as a model soldier, being deployed in the Mozambican Civil War. He joined the Revolutionary Manzuxiehui (a puppet political party within the Communist dominated Democratic Front for Socialism). During the Orchid Revolution he refused to fire on protesters becoming the Chairman of the Manzuxiehui where he led it to join the Popular Front for Democracy and Revolution which won the Manchurian constituent assembly election, 1990 with the Manzuxiehui gaining a plurality of seats. When the coalition government of Du Changhao announced it would end Manchuria's nuclear weapons programme the Manzuxiehui left the government as Jin became more critical of Du. After a protracted power struggle within the Manzuxiehui Jin emerged as the pre-eminent figure becoming the party's candidate in the 1996 premerial election where he came second after Du Changhao by a margin of 0.2%. In 2002 he was elected as the first Manzuxiehui Premier in 60 years. Socially conservative and economically interventionist, as Premier Jin implemented some populist policies such as a national minimum wage, a pension scheme, a more expansive welfare state, tough crime and punishment laws, more extensive use of the death penalty for serious crimes, several ambitious infrastructure projects, privatisation of the postal service and strong anti-immigration laws. Jin also made Manchurian foreign policy nationalist in nature, taking confrontational stances towards China, Japan and South Korea whilst creating strong ties with North Korea and Russia. Whilst Jin's policies blessed him with high approval ratings at home he was regarded as a controversial figure abroad especially for his unwavering support for the DPRK. Re-elected in 2008 Jin saw Manchuria through the Great Recession through the implementation of austerity policies by his financial secretary Yu Qiang. Whilst always maintaining high approval ratings, the Jin government encountered severe controversy after it became embroiled in several high-profile corruption scandals resulting in the resignation of several Secretaries. Jin stepped down from the position of Premier in 2014 due to term limits still enjoying an approval rating of 81%. Jin is a popular figure in Manchuria with supporters contending that Jin saw Manchuria through a decade of economic growth whilst helping alleviate income inequality. Jin's supporters also maintain Jin was a man of the people, helping reduce crime and corruption in Manchuria taking a pro-active role in taking on the powerful criminal Triads whilst seeing Manchuria achieve solid growth after the Great Recession. However, Jin's critics maintain that corruption worsened under his rule which they also allege led to economic decline, authoritarianism, the strengthening of the intelligence services and slowly turning Manchuria into a police state. His uncompromising support for North Korea resulted in strong condemnation from the United States, Japan and South Korea. Jin continues to be an influential member of the Manzuxiehui and enjoys high public approval.
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