Frenchman to Serve on Local Government of Rural Zhejiang Village

Frenchman to Serve on Local Government of Rural Zhejiang Village
Mar 03, 2016 By eChinacities.com

Editor's Note: It took some of our users by surprise that you can become a Chinese citizen, but ECC's collective minds were blown when we learned that a Frenchman serves as an assistant director of a local government in Ningbo. And here we are having trouble getting a proper Z visa. Even if your ambitions haven't included a job in the PRC, you have to admit that this guy is pretty cool. This translated article reports on the story.

A Frenchman named Ding Yimu (Chinese name) has formally joined the leadership council of Hehong Village in Ningbo. Ding will serve as the assistant director of the village. Ding has said that he hopes to promote the village’s beautiful rural scenery to bring in Chinese and international tourists.

Two days ago, the Hehong village committee office was packed with local visitors who were there to gawk at the new recruit. Ding, the new foreign village assistant director has white skin and blue eyes. It is almost unheard of for a small rural village in China to hire a foreigner to serve on its local government.

An International Perspective
Ding is tall, wears glasses, and is very polite. He is 53 years old and is married to a woman from Ninghai Country, where the village is located. He has previously lived in Ninghai for 15 years.
He is well qualified for the position. Ding earned a MBA from the United States and entered the financial industry. He earned a lot of money on Wall Street and the London Stock Exchange.

After earning his fortune, Ding quit his job and spent two years traveling around the world. Later in life, Ding followed his wife back to Ninghai and started a business selling electrical household appliances. He now owns two companies that are valued together at 100 million Yuan.

Ding said that traveling and living internationally are in his genes. By the time he was 14, his parents had already taken him to 86 different countries.

Party Connections
Chen Weirong, Ninghai’s Meilin District party committee secretary was one of Ding’s first connections in the area. “Meilin district is a small water village that faces the mountains. It is known locally as ‘longevity village.’ However, it is not known by the rest of the world. We need someone with a talent for business to help transform our village and promote our mountains and rivers.”

“Now, I am able to participate in village decisions on major issues and vote on them. I am also able to give more in-depth advice,” said Ding of his new position.

Ding’s Plans for the Village
In his first few days on the job, Ding has gone through photos from his previous travels to over a hundred countries to find examples to help create a new development plan for the village. He said that the old facades of the traditional village homes cannot be torn down, but brand new houses can be built inside of them. This way, the village will be able to maintain its history.
One of Ding’s other ideas is to build a hotel for foreigners in the village to promote tourism in the rural area.

Source: QQ News

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Keywords: foreigner Chinese government Frenchman government council

9 Comments

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Guest743842

It's great to see and congats to him. However, he set the bar a little high for the rest of us.

Mar 10, 2016 09:49 Report Abuse

Guest14480640

He's being used as a puppet.

Mar 08, 2016 04:18 Report Abuse

ScotsAlan

Best of luck to the guy. Local Government, as in village committees do good work.

Mar 07, 2016 20:23 Report Abuse

Guest859906

just as long as the 100 million is there.....once its dried up they gonna put a dong in ding's resume..

Mar 05, 2016 00:56 Report Abuse

Mixal

Good luck with keeping that village intact.

Mar 04, 2016 22:21 Report Abuse

RandomGuy

This guy knows how to China, pretty sure he is corrupt as fuck.

Mar 04, 2016 14:47 Report Abuse

ynyrglyn

Congratulations to him, but does anyone else think that it's not just cause of his MBA, travelling experience, and prosperous businesses that he got the job? To quote, "However, it is not known by the rest of the world. We need someone with a talent for business to help transform our village and promote our mountains and rivers.” That would sure bring in some attention to the village by appointing a foreigner to the Local Government.

Mar 03, 2016 17:31 Report Abuse

Guest14480640

It's cause he rich and white.

Mar 03, 2016 19:18 Report Abuse

Guest2239322

what a waste of mba degree!!!

Mar 03, 2016 17:04 Report Abuse