Background
Zhou Ji was born on August 26, 1946 in Shanghai, China.
周济
politician mechanical engineer
Zhou Ji was born on August 26, 1946 in Shanghai, China.
Zhou Ji attended Tsinghua University in Beijing, where he graduated from in 1970, and received Master of Engineering in mechanical engineering from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in 1980. He also acquired a doctorate from the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York in the United States.
Much of his early career was spent at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, where Zhou Ji eventually rose to become the president of in 1997. He was elected as the fellow of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 1999. He then spent a tenure in the municipal government of Wuhan, where he served as deputy mayor and Mayor.
Zhou Ji was transferred to work in the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China in 2002 as its Vice-Minister, rising to the Minister position on March 17, 2003. At the re-elections of the 2008 National People's Congress, he received the fewest votes in favour out of any minister. He received 384 votes against, with 81 abstentions.
During Zhou's time in office, China's education system continued to be plagued by academic dishonesty, corruption, and arbitrary fees, with no discernible signs of improvement. Zhou Ji was also unpopular due to his introduction of 16 "officially sanctioned" educational Peking Opera works, some of which allegedly included themes similar to those during the Cultural Revolution. These works were openly opposed by members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in March 2009. He was removed in October 2009 at a regular session of the National People's Congress; he was replaced by deputy Yuan Guiren.
Zhou Ji was instead appointed deputy party secretary at the Chinese Academy of Engineering in Beijing.