Following former Nanjing Mayor Lan Shaomin (蓝绍敏)’s promotion to Jiangsu CCP Standing Committee (CCPSC) and appointment as Suzhou Party Secretary, the province has appointed Taizhou Party Secretary Han Liming (韩立明) as Lan’s successor in Nanjing on 8 October 2019.
Han was former Changzhou Party Secretary (1984-1994) Chen Yuying (陈玉英)’s secretary in Chen’s last three years in Changzhou. Changzhou was a model for small- and median-sized cities across China back in the 1980s, for its unique, innovative path of development in light industry, electronics, chemical industry, pharmaceuticals, and construction materials. As a result, Chen Yuying became the first and only prefectural party secretary introduced into CCP Central Committee without taking any concurrent vice-provincial or provincial job. Chen was member of 13th and 14th Central Committees, which gave Han a head-start in her political career.
Han became Taizhou Party Secretary in April 2018, and Taizhou is her first prefectural party secretary post. After the latest promotion to Nanjing, Han also became the second female provincial capital mayor across China—the other being incumbent Hefei Mayor Ling Yun (凌云), who was appointed in 2016. Yet, Nanjing is of vice-provincial ranking and Hefei is only of prefectural ranking—Han is therefore the only female. vice-provincial mayor in China now.