China’s Communist Party names new provincial chiefs ahead of fifth plenum

By Eduardo Baptista BEIJING, Oct 24 (Reuters) China s ruling Communist Party announced key personnel changes in six provinces on Saturday, two days before it holds a closed-door conclave in Beijing from October 26 ​to 29. The official focus of the secretive meeting, also known as ‌a plenum, in the Chinese capital is expected to be party governance and discipline, though personnel issues could also feature. Here are the appointments: • State Council Vice Secretary-General Wang Zhijun was named Communist Party secretary of the southern province of Hunan, replacing Shen Xiaoming • ‌Wang ​is a full member of the Central Committee, ⁠the largest of the party s ⁠top decision-making bodies • Mo Gaoyi, a vice minister at the party s publicity department and director of the State Council Information Office, was named party secretary of the southwestern province of Yunnan, replacing Wang Ning • Xie ​Weijiang, Hunan s deputy party secretary and party chief of Yueyang, a city in the province s no