In name only: I will break the chess game in Handong

"Secretary Chen! The interrogation was completed last night, and the facts are clear and the evidence is complete."

Chen Luo nodded. The case wasn't actually complicated; it was just the people and things involved that were troublesome.

"Okay, I understand. Have the Guangming branch issue a notice about this incident on the Handong official website."

Power must operate in the sunlight; our Handong political and legal system is not afraid of supervision from the people!

"understand!"

Just after hanging up with Qi Tongwei, Chen Luo's personal cell phone rang again.

"Hey, old headmaster!"

"Chen Luo, I already know what happened at Handong University last night. To be honest with you, our Peking University has long abhorred this kind of phenomenon and this unhealthy trend. However, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade needs to accept some international students to consolidate diplomatic achievements."

It seems now that this is not a long-term solution!

Some technologies, some things, some relationships cannot be eased simply by one party being friendly.

I want to tell you that you did the right thing, and Kyoto University will always be your support!

Chapter 29: The decision of Peking University and the inquiry by the Provincial Party Committee.

"Thank you, former headmaster!"

"Hey, you're still so polite. Even though you've been working in Jiangsu Province all these years, Dongsheng Investment Company still donates hundreds of millions of yuan to the school every year. It's Peking University that should be thanking you."

"By the way, are you and Zhang Nian settling in well in Handong? I haven't seen her for two years. Time really flies."

Chen Luo is grateful to this old principal, who was the one who called to help Chen Luo and Zhang Nian back then.

Regardless of how much capital Dongsheng Investment Company has made over the years, Chen Luo and Zhang Nian have never been reluctant to donate to the school.

After all, for Chen Luo and Zhang Nian, the higher the official position, the better, and as for money... once you have a net worth of several hundred billion, it's just a string of numbers.

"Thank you for your concern. Xiao Nian and I are doing quite well in Handong, and our work is progressing smoothly."

"By the way, former principal, Principal Xiao isn't even sixty yet, is he?"

During the phone call, the old principal paused for a moment, as the topic had become somewhat abrupt.

After a moment's thought, the old principal gave his answer, knowing that Chen Luo wouldn't ask this question for no reason.

"I'm fifty-five."

"At fifty-five, Principal Xiao is still in his prime. Last night, I spoke with Minister Hao Yi of the Ministry of Education to inquire about the proposed handling of the Vice President of Handong University."

Minister Hao expressed concern about the current issue of universities treating domestic students and international students differently. He said that he has only one year left before retirement, and the organization has asked him to recommend a suitable candidate for minister.

Among them were President Xiao and Secretary Ma from Tsinghua University.

After hearing what Chen Luo said, the old principal, who was recuperating in a courtyard house in Beijing, was instantly invigorated.

"Ahem, is there anything Minister Hao can do that requires our cooperation from Peking University?"

"Old Principal, there really is one!"

Minister Hao wants some universities to take the lead in breaking this discriminatory attitude and treating everyone equally, so that international students and domestic students can enjoy educational resources in a comprehensive, fair and just manner.

It's clear that Minister Hao is determined to push this through, but the resistance is quite evident.

It's said that old people become shrewd, and just listening to Chen Luo talk about these old principals made me understand the exchange of interests behind it.

"Yes, Minister Hao's idea is excellent!"

"Okay, I'll call Xiao Xiao right away and ask him to draft a plan based on Minister Hao's idea. You can also contact Xiao Xiao directly if you have any good suggestions."

"Yes, Principal, please don't worry. I'll send my opinions to Principal Xiao for reference later."

"Hahaha, okay, okay, that's settled then. You can continue with your work."

Half an hour after hanging up the phone, and before Chen Luo had even finished reading two documents, his personal cell phone rang again.

"Hey, Principal Xiao!"

Good morning, Secretary Chen!

Chen Luo sat in his office, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"Principal Xiao, please stop teasing me. Just call me Chen Luo."

"Alright, I won't tease you anymore. The former principal has already told me some things. Actually, regarding the preferential treatment given to international students, on the one hand, universities want to rank higher internationally; on the other hand, our universities want to have better exchanges with some top international universities in certain important fields; and there is also the need for diplomacy and foreign trade."

The first two are relatively easy to deal with, but in recent years, the international community has begun to impose restrictions on domestic universities in certain important areas, so international rankings are no longer important.

Regarding diplomacy and foreign trade, I inquired with the relevant departments, and they said they wouldn't interfere excessively as long as the situation was compliant and legal.

Principal Xiao's words were very important. Chen Luo did not contact Peking University immediately because he was worried that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Trade would not agree. Sometimes it's like this: you have to tolerate the students, and the university will take the blame.

The biggest obstacle now is that there will be no interference. This matter is quite simple: it's just a matter of whether universities are willing to give up some useless international rankings and flashy but impractical international exchanges in order to promote true fairness and justice in domestic higher education.

Of course, even so, it would be difficult for the Ministry of Education to get all universities involved, given their complex and intertwined networks of relationships.

"So that means this is feasible, Principal Xiao. But if Peking University alone takes action, the impact won't be big enough. Could we involve other universities?"

The "brother universities" Chen Luo mentioned refer to universities that lean towards humanities and social sciences, and they are basically on the same page as Peking University.

"Hmm, that's a great idea. I'll get in touch with them, and the announcement will definitely be released within half a month at the latest!"

"Half a month... The discussion about this matter on the internet is quite intense. Kongming borrowed the east wind, and Principal Xiao, we also need to take advantage of the wind."

This will show the public and netizens that Peking University's sense of responsibility is in no way inferior to Tsinghua University's. Perhaps it can't match Tsinghua in natural sciences, but when it comes to the people, Peking University truly considers issues from their perspective.

? ? ? ? ?

In an instant, Principal Xiao was filled with excitement. Could it be that Peking University could take this opportunity to severely suppress a certain university?

"Okay, I understand. The announcement will definitely be released in seven days at most. I'll talk to you later and contact other universities!"

After hanging up the phone with Principal Xiao, Chen Luo shook his head with a smile. Sure enough, for Principal Xiao of Peking University, the sense of accomplishment from suppressing a certain university was no less than that of the Ministry of Education!

dong dong dong...

"Secretary Chen, Secretary Bai just came to inform you that Secretary Sha and Secretary Tian from the Discipline Inspection Commission are waiting for you in Secretary Sha's office. They want to inquire about the situation at Han University last night."

After listening to his secretary Liu Mingyu finish speaking, Chen Luo frowned slightly.

"Not bad at all!"

After muttering something to himself, Chen Luo got up, picked up the teacup on the table, and went out towards Sha Ruijin's secretary's office.

As soon as Chen Luo stepped out of the elevator, he saw that Sha Ruijin's secretary was already waiting at the elevator entrance.

"Secretary Chen, Secretary Sha and Secretary Tian are waiting for you."

Chen Luo nodded.

"Yes, Secretary Bai is very thoughtful."

Chen Luo smiled and walked past Secretary Bai to the office door, then pushed it open and went inside.

"call!"

Secretary Bai, who was still standing at the elevator entrance, breathed a slight sigh of relief and stared blankly at Chen Luo's back.

............................................................

Upon entering the office, Chen Luo greeted Sha Ruijin and Tian Guofu.

"Secretary Sha, Secretary Guofu."

"Comrade Chen Luo, please sit down."

Sha Ruijin smiled, seemingly warm yet somewhat distant.

After Chen Luo sat down, Sha Ruijin was the first to ask questions.

"Comrade Chen Luo, there was quite a commotion at Handong University last night, which caused quite a stir online. I saw some videos and comments online, and they all said that Secretary Chen of the Handong Political and Legal Committee and Director Qi of the Provincial Department are good officials who serve the people."

Public opinion is outraged. I wonder how Comrade Chen Luo plans to handle this? Should the provincial party committee hold a special meeting to discuss it?

Chapter 30: Overlapping Work Between the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Discipline Inspection Commission

Chen Luo knew immediately where the problem lay.

It's likely that the students at Handong University who took photos and videos last night leaked their phone call with Qi Tongwei.

It's fine for netizens to praise themselves, but praising Qi Tongwei as a good official who serves the people clearly displeased Sha Ruijin.

"Secretary Sha, this matter may seem like a small thing, but it has a very bad impact, and the underlying issues it reflects are also worth pondering."

This is why I personally instructed Qi Tongwei to take responsibility last night; it's not an overreaction.

As for online public opinion, it's normal for online comments to be emotional. Right now, people are praising me because I've done a good job that satisfies the people; if I do something wrong tomorrow, the people will be cursing me, the secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, again.

Although Sha Ruijin was not entirely satisfied with this explanation, he ultimately did not want to have a conflict with Chen Luo, since Chen Luo's willingness to explain was already a demonstration of his attitude.

Sha Ruijin's silence does not mean that Tian Guofu has nothing to say.

"Secretary Chen, the handling of this matter at Handong University was very timely. However, there is something I need to ask Secretary Chen: should the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection be responsible for handling the case of Wang Aiping, the vice president of Handong University?"

After all, Wang Aiping is a department-level cadre. It wouldn't be appropriate to hand him over to the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Procuratorate, which is only a deputy department-level unit, right?

Furthermore, Wang Aiping is, after all, an official at a university directly under the Ministry of Education. Shouldn't we consult with the Ministry of Education before dealing with him?

Chen Luo could tell from Tian Guofu's tone that he was clearly angry, and it was understandable that Tian Guofu was upset.

If this matter doesn't have a significant impact, Tian Guofu probably won't even bother with it.

The problem lies in public opinion and the constant trending topics online. It's the disciplinary committee's job to deal with officials who violate discipline, but now the anti-corruption bureau of the procuratorate is doing it. What is the disciplinary committee for then? Just to freeload?

To some extent, the work of the anti-corruption bureau of the procuratorate and the discipline inspection commission overlaps and contradicts each other.

Chen Luo paused for a moment, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

However, Chen Luo quickly smiled and explained to Tian Guofu, "Secretary Guofu, the decision on how to handle Wang Aiping will naturally be made by the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection."

Actually, after reporting to Minister Hao of the Ministry of Education last night, I planned to notify the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, but it was too late then, and it would inevitably displease the staff of the Commission.

So I first instructed Lü Liang of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Procuratorate to take Wang Aiping away for questioning, and then transfer her to the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection the next day. At this point, I guess Lü Liang should have already sent her to the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, right?

Just as Chen Luo finished speaking, Tian Guofu's phone rang.

After answering the phone, it turned out that the Anti-Corruption Bureau had sent the person to the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection.