【英语中国】25位最值得关注的中国人

Politics

Although little seems to set Hu Chunhua apart from other Chinese Communist party officials, he is the man likely to take over from Xi Jinping as China's top leader in 2022. Now 50, 10 years younger than Xi, Hu became party secretary of Guangdong, China's most populous province, last year.

If China has a spin doctor, it is Wang Huning. Head of the Communist party's policy research office, he has written speeches for China's past three presidents. Wang, who studied in the US and speaks French, is president Xi Jinping's top foreign policy adviser but he also cooked up the “China Dream”, Xi's overarching propaganda catchphrase.

Xu Zhiyong has long been at the forefront of the fight for the rule of law in China. The lawyer's latest and biggest project is an activist network which aims to spread the concept of citizenry in China. Xu has potential as a political figure outside the Communist party but that is obviously disconcerting to Chinese leaders - Xu was arrested last month.

It is more than a decade since Hu Jia helped to expose an Aids epidemic in central China that had been caused by a government-backed blood-trading scheme. Since then, the activist has taken up many more cases ranging from environmental protection to petitioners' rights. Now 40, Hu is one of China's most outspoken dissidents.

Technology

As chief executive of Tencent, Pony Ma could be called the king of the Chinese internet. He has built an empire of social communication, games and online shopping services for China's 600 million internet users. Now he is testing his luck in other markets by taking WeChat, the company's hit mobile chat app, global.

Lei Jun has hit it big. His company, Xiaomi, now sells more smartphones than Apple in China and is valued at $10bn. Lei has had a hand in a range of ventures that have shaped China's internet industry: software maker Kingsoft; Joyo.com, which is now Amazon China; and UCWeb, China's biggest mobile browser.

Jonathan Lu's Alibaba Group may have a stranglehold over the country's e-commerce market but Lu must fill the shoes of Jack Ma, the company's founder, as he leads the group through one of the internet industry's largest-ever IPOs.

Business

Jiang Qiong'er plans to help China cast off the inferiority complex that comes from decades of producing cheap trinkets - by partnering with Hermes to launch a new luxury brand, Shang Xia, that draws inspiration from China's past. Those emperors, they really knew how to live.

Wang Fengying, CEO of Great Wall Motor Company, is an unusual leader in China's automotive sector for two reasons: she is a woman, and she has patience. The rest are men, and in a rush to break into the global auto industry, while Wang has taken her time to build a quality “made in China” brand from the ground up.

Guo Guangchang is probably one of the richest people that most FT readers have never heard of. Co-founder and chairman of Fosun, the largest private conglomerate in China, he is helping buy out Club Med. Plenty of other European and US brands are also on his shopping list.

Zong Qinghou has been named China's richest man two out of the past four years. The “Drinks King” of Wahaha is an earthy guy who has given Coca-Cola a run for its money selling soft drinks in China. With a fortune of $18.7bn, Zong now has plans to sell unknown luxury brands to the notoriously label-conscious Chinese.

A handful of obscure Chinese entrepreneurs have stunned the world in recent years with plans for huge projects. But none more so than Wang Jing, a 41-year-old with interests in telecoms and mining who has come out of nowhere to win the contract to build a rival to the Panama Canal in Nicaragua.

Finance

At 61, Fang Fenglei shows no sign of slowing down. The former chairman of Goldman's China securities business has long been China's top investment guru but three years ago his company wound down. In May, he pushed for a comeback with a new $2bn fund.

Secrecy surrounds Xiao Jianhua. When state media reported last year that the 42-year-old former prodigy, dubbed China's “007 of finance”, was involved in the acquisition of HSBC's stake in Ping An, China's second-biggest insurer, it was almost enough to derail the entire $9.4bn transaction.

It went through - and Xiao got his deal.

Sports

Zou Shiming wrote himself into Chinese sporting history in 2008 when he won Olympic gold in boxing, a sport that had never been encouraged by the government. Now he has turned professional and his next fight takes place in Macau in November.

Guan Tianlang grabbed global attention in April when, aged 14, he became the youngest-ever golfer to compete in the Masters, gaining glory in a sport that is looked down upon by the Communist party as bourgeois and receives no official support. Guan will compete in the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in October.

Arts & Entertainment

Long a mainstay of modern Chinese literature, Wang Anyi is winning international recognition at last. The 59-year-old writer was a finalist in the Man Booker International Prize in 2011 for The Song of Everlasting Sorrow, her best-known novel, and publishers expect her to win more prizes.

At this year's Cannes

Film Festival, Jia Zhangke's A Touch of Sin won an award for best screenplay and was nominated for the Palme d'Or. Great things are expected from the director. Jia's immediate task is to get the film approved by Chinese censors for its release in cinemas in November.

Wang Yunpeng is becoming big outside China. The young baritone recently took first prize in a competition at the Manhattan School of Music and came second in the Placido Domingo Opera Competition. He is soon to start at the Met's Lindeman Young Artist Development Program.

Media

Social media has made Luo Changping China's top corruption buster. Posting information about corrupt officials directly on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter equivalent, has enabled Luo to become a true press watchdog. The latest official to fall following Luo's revelations is Liu Tienan, head of China's energy bureau.

As editor of Global Times, the nationalist tabloid owned by the Communist party's mouthpiece, People's Daily, Hu Xijin is one of China's most influential men. While his views often earn him ridicule on Sina Weibo, his paper is a channel for the country's new left to air concerns.

Hu Shuli is the doyenne of professional journalism in China. Both at Caijing, the economic magazine she founded, and Caixin, the media group she set up, she has pioneered journalists' integrity and independence in an environment shaped by censorship and bribery.

Social & Academia

Yu Jianrong has made it his business to tell the Communist party how it should move to a constitutional system and address a myriad of other political, economic and social ills. The professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences manages publicly to voice proposals that would land a dissident in jail.

A racing driver, writer and blogger, Han Han is always good for a surprise. The 30-year-old's signature mix of cynicism, materialism and rebellion has come to represent his generation. He has just won another race and published two new books, one of them containing 1,000 questions from readers and answers from celebrities.

Wang Yi heads one of the largest underground churches, the “Blessing of the Autumn Rain” in Chengdu, with close to 400 members. The 40-year-old was once an atheist intellectual who taught law. His conversion to Christianity embodies a trend that is seeing millions of Chinese flock to religion.

政治



尽管胡春华(见右图)看上去与其他中国共产党员没有多少不同之处，但他很可能就是将在2022年接替习近平、成为中国最高领导人的那个人。胡春华现年50岁，比习近平小10岁。胡春华在去年成为中国人口第一大省广东省的省委书记。

如果中国有一位政治化妆师(spin doctor)，那么他只能是王沪宁。王沪宁是中央政策研究室主任，为中国最近的三任主席写过讲话稿。王沪宁曾在美国进修，会说法语，是中国国家主席习近平的最高外交政策顾问。他还策划出了“中国梦”——习近平的核心施政理念。

律师许志永长期以来活跃在为中国争取法治的前线。他最近、也是最大的一个项目是建立一个维权人士网络，目的是在中国传播公民观念。许志永有望成为中共党外的政治人物，但这显然让中国的领导人感到不安。许志永在上月被捕。

10多年前，维权人士胡嘉（胡佳）参与披露了一个消息：中国中部的艾滋病流行是一起受到政府支持的卖血计划引发的。自那时起，他参与了许多其它活动，从环保活动到维护上访者权益的活动。现年40岁的胡嘉是中国最敢于直言的异见人士之一。

科技



腾讯(Tencent)首席执行官马化腾(Pony Ma,见右图)可谓中国的互联网之王。他创建了一个为中国6亿网民提供社交通讯、游戏和在线购物服务的帝国。如今马化腾正在尝试开拓其他市场，方法就是：努力将腾讯的热门移动聊天应用微信(WeChat)推向全球。

雷军已大获成功。他的公司小米(Xiaomi)如今在中国卖出的智能手机比苹果(Apple)还多，市值达100亿美元。雷军投资了一系列塑造了中国互联网行业面貌的企业：软件制造商金山软件(Kingsoft)、卓越网（Joyo.com，如今已变身亚马逊中国(Amazon China)）、以及中国第一大手机浏览器UC浏览器(UCWeb)。



陆兆禧(Jonathan Lu，见右图)领导的阿里巴巴集团(Alibaba Group)或许仍牢牢把持着中国的电子商务市场，但在带领阿里巴巴完成互联网行业有史以来最大的一笔首次公开发行(IPO)之际，陆兆禧必须像他的前任、阿里巴巴创始人马云(Jack Ma)那样，展现出雄才伟略才行。

商业

蒋琼耳计划帮助中国摆脱因数十年来制造廉价饰品而产生的自卑感。她的方法是与爱马仕(Hermes)合作，推出一个名为“上下”(Shang Xia)的新奢侈品牌。这个品牌致力于从中国的传统中寻找灵感。中国古代的皇帝们的确懂得如何享受生活。



长城汽车(Great Wall Motor Company)总裁王凤英(见右图)是一位另类的中国汽车行业领袖，原因有两点：首先，她是女性；其次，她沉得住气。中国汽车行业的其他领袖都是男性，都急不可耐地想要进军全球汽车行业。而王凤英却一直耐心地为树立一个高品质“中国制造”品牌打地基。

郭广昌可能是大多数英国《金融时报》读者闻所未闻的一位顶级富豪。他是中国最大的私营企业集团复星集团(Fosun)的联合创始人兼董事长。他正推动复星集团收购地中海俱乐部(Club Med)。欧美很多其他品牌也在他的待购清单上。



过去4年来，宗庆后(见右图)曾两度荣登中国财富榜榜首。这位来自娃哈哈(Wahaha)的“饮料大王”看上去毫不起眼，但他经营的娃哈哈在中国的软饮料市场上却一直是可口可乐(Coca-Cola)的劲敌。宗庆后身家达187亿美元。如今，他的计划是，引进一些名不见经传的奢侈品牌，卖给一贯崇尚名牌的中国人。

近年来，有好几位原本籍籍无名的中国企业家以宏大的项目震惊了世界。但他们中最令人瞩目的一个还数王靖。现年41岁的王靖从事电信业和采矿业，他横空出世，赢得了在尼加拉瓜开凿大运河的合同，这条大运河一旦建成，将足以挑战巴拿马运河(Panama Canal)的地位。

金融

现年61岁的方风雷没有显示出打算放慢脚步的迹象。他曾任高盛(Goldman)高华证券董事长，长期以来一直是中国投资领域的顶级大师，但在3年前，他的基金停止募资。今年5月，他推动组建了一支20亿美元的新基金。

现年42岁的肖建华充满神秘感，这位昔日神童被称为中国的“金融界007”。中国国家媒体去年报道称，肖建华参与了对汇丰(HSBC)在平安(Ping An)中所持股份的收购，有关的报道险些让这笔94亿美元的交易泡汤。平安是中国第二大保险商。

这笔交易最终达成——肖建华如愿以偿。

体育



2008年，邹市明(见右图)赢得奥运会拳击金牌，将自己的名字写入了中国体育史册。拳击从来不是受到政府鼓励的项目。如今，邹市明已转型成为职业拳手，他的下一场比赛将于11月份在澳门举行。



今年4月，关天朗(见右图)吸引了全球的目光。这位14岁的少年成为美国高尔夫大师赛(Masters)有史以来最年轻的参赛者，在这项运动中赢得了荣誉。中共一直轻视高尔夫球运动，认为这是资产阶级的玩意儿，也没有向这项运动提供官方支持。关天朗10月份将参加亚太业余锦标赛(Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship)。

艺术与娱乐



今年59岁的中国文坛常青树王安忆(见右图)如今终于在国际上获得认可。2011年，王安忆凭借她最著名的作品《长恨歌》(The Song of Everlasting Sorrow)进入布克国际奖(Man Booker International Prize)决选阶段，出版商预期她还将赢得更多奖项。



在今年的戛纳电影节(Cannes Film Festival)上，贾樟柯(见右图)导演的《天注定》(A Touch of Sin)获得了最佳编剧奖，并获金棕榈奖(Palme d'Or)提名。外界预计他还会拿出更多优秀的作品。贾樟柯的当务之急是推动这部电影获得中国审查机构的批准，从而能在11月份公映。

王云鹏在海外正受到越来越广泛的关注。这位年轻的男中音歌唱家最近在曼哈顿音乐学院(Manhattan School of Music)的一场比赛中拔得头筹，并在普拉西多?多明戈歌剧大赛(Placido Domingo Opera Competition)中荣获第二名。他不久将参加大都会歌剧院林德曼青年艺术家发展计划(Met's Lindeman Young Artist Development Program)。

媒体

社交媒体让罗昌平成了中国最有名的反腐斗士。罗昌平直接在新浪微博（Sina Weibo，中国版Twitter）上发布腐败官员信息，这让他真正像媒体一样发挥起监管作用。最近因被罗昌平举报而下台的一名官员，是中国国家发改委副主任、国家能源局局长刘铁男。

作为中共喉舌《人民日报》(People's Daily)旗下民族主义小报《环球时报》(Global Times)的主编，胡锡进是中国最具影响力的人物之一。尽管他的观点常常在新浪微博上遭到奚落，但他的报纸为中国新左派提供了表达担忧的渠道。

胡舒立是中国职业记者中的女元老。无论是在她创建的财经杂志《财经》(Caijing)、还是在她创立的媒体集团财新(Caixin)，胡舒立都是坚持记者操守和新闻独立的先驱者——尽管中国的新闻业面临严格审查、并且贿赂之风盛行。

社会与学术



中国社会科学院(CASS)教授于建嵘(见右图)一直在向中共进言，提出了许多有关如何实现宪政、以及解决许多政治、经济和社会问题的建议。他将向中共进言视为自己的职责。如果一名异见人士提出同样的建议，他可能会蹲监狱，而于建嵘却能够公开提出这些建议并且安然无恙。



赛车手、作家兼博客作者韩寒(见右图)总是擅长出人意表。刚过31岁生日的韩寒个性鲜明，既有些玩世不恭，也有些物质主义，还兼具反叛精神，这令他成为同代人的代言人。他最近又赢得了一场赛车比赛，还出版了两本新书。他其中一本新书的内容包括：来自读者的1000个问题，以及一些名人对这些问题的回答。

王怡领导着成都“秋雨之福”教会(Blessing of the Autumn Rain)。该教会是中国最大的家庭教会之一，拥有近400名信徒。王怡现年40岁，曾是在大学里教授法律的无神论知识分子。目前无数中国人纷纷皈依宗教，王怡皈依基督教的经历是这股潮流的一种反映。

译者/何黎