In 1985, He Wenjie remained the most capable junior staff member in his unit. Given that his work performance over the past three years had won universal recognition, his name was included on that year's promotion list.
When the leadership called him in for a talk, they hinted that there was an intention from above to promote He Wenjie another rank by the end of the year. Upon hearing this news, He Wenjie immediately declined the leadership's goodwill, proactively disclosing that his wife currently ran a restaurant and noting that with their family assets, getting promoted so quickly would inevitably draw suspicion from colleagues. He also expressed his own intention to transition into the private sector, successfully persuading the leadership to drop the idea of promoting him.
He Wenjie had his reasons for doing this. If he remained an ordinary staff member at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the background checks wouldn't be nearly as rigorous. But if he harbored ambitions to climb higher, everything he had done in the past would become a ticking time bomb; even if his past actions were covert, the fact that he held a Hong Kong identity could not withstand close scrutiny. Since he had already mapped out his career path, he might as well be upfront about it. Given his capabilities, even if the leadership knew he wouldn't stay long, they still couldn't do without him in daily operations. Moreover, knowing full well that he had no political ambitions, they would actually fee…
Chapter 503