On October 23, the website of China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security released a State Council announcement on the appointment and removal of national officials. Duan Yijun was appointed as the director of the National Religious Affairs Administration and will no longer serve as deputy head of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission.
According to public information, Duan Yijun, born in July 1967, is of Han ethnicity, holds a postgraduate degree, and is a member of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
In Sichuan Province, he previously served as party secretary of Shiqu County, standing committee member and secretary general of the Ganzi Prefectural Committee, party secretary of Kangding County, deputy director of the Provincial Public Security Department, deputy director of the Provincial Administration of Work Safety, and director of the Provincial Department of Emergency Management.
In 2021, he became party secretary of the Liangshan Prefectural Committee. In January 2023, he was promoted to vice governor of Sichuan Province, responsible for civil affairs, natural resources, housing and urban-rural development, veterans affairs, forestry and grassland, disaster prevention and mitigation, and related areas.
In July 2023, Duan Yijun was appointed vice minister of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission and a member of its Party Leadership Group. He has now assumed the position of director of the National Religious Affairs Administration.
According to the 2018 institutional reform plan of the CPC and the state, the National Religious Affairs Administration was incorporated into the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee. Although it continues to be publicly identified as the "National Religious Affairs Administration," it no longer functions as an independent entity.
Chen Ruifeng, who previously served as vice minister of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee and director of the National Religious Affairs Administration, was appointed in September this year as vice minister of the United Front Work Department, minister of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, and secretary of its Party Leadership Group.
