Tuo Zhen


Tuo Zhen is a Chinese official, serving since July 2015 as the deputy head of the Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China, and the Chief Editor of the People's Daily, an official newspaper of the CPC since April 2018. Tuo is the former provincial propaganda chief of Guangdong Province, during which he was widely known for his involvement in the 2013 Southern Weekly incident. He has also served as the vice-president of the state-run Xinhua News Agency.

Biography

Tuo Zhen was born in Fangcheng County, Henan province, in 1959. His family name is extremely rare. In 1978, Tuo Zhen was admitted to Wuhan University, majoring in political economics. After graduating from university in 1982, he was assigned to work as an editor for the Economic Daily. In 2005, he was promoted to chief editor. In 2011, he was transferred to become vice president of Xinhua News Agency. In May 2012, Tuo Zhen was transferred to Guangdong province, named a member of the provincial Party Standing Committee, and head of the Guangdong Propaganda Department.
In January 2013, it is reported that under the command of Tuo Zhen, Guangdong liberal newspaper Southern Weekly was forced to add a provided commentary glorifying the Communist Party with its annual new year editorial, which was originally intended to call for proper implementation of the country's constitution. This action provoked many Southern Weekly reporters and intellectuals to criticize Tuo and call for his position. Over the period of a few weeks, nearly a dozen drafts were circulated between editors and propaganda officials under Tuo; ultimately the final article had evolved to look nothing like the original draft.
In July 2015, Tuo Zhen was promoted to deputy head of the Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China, serving as an assistant to Liu Qibao.
In April 2018, Tuo was appointed as the Chief Editor of the People's Daily, an official newspaper of the CPC.

Works