Well, perhaps it was still a little early to call it a "promotion," but everyone, including Zhou Yi himself, knew it was only a matter of time.
The key question now was which position Director Zhou would choose!
In practice, a Vice Mayor who sat on the Municipal Party Standing Committee and the secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission were both members of the city's standing leadership team, so there was little difference. Under current conventions, however, promotion from Public Security Director to secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission was a common, standard career path.
If there was another distinction, it lay in their responsibilities. The secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission generally oversaw stability and security and supervised and guided the work of the political and legal agencies, while a Vice Mayor might oversee the specific operations of public security, judicial administration, and other departments.
Beyond that, the only difference was where their offices were!
Just as Zhou Yi was about to speak, someone knocked on the office door. At Secretary Sima's "Come in," Mayor Shan Wenxu opened the door and entered.
Mayor Shan was not at all surprised to find Director Zhou sitting there drinking tea. This meeting had been arranged in advance; something had simply come up at the last minute and delayed him.
"Why not let Director Zhou take on both roles? The capable should shoulder more work!" Mayor Shan suggested jokingly.
Taking on both meant serving as a Municipal Party Standing Committee Member, secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, Vice Mayor, and Public Security Director all at once. Before anyone laughed, this was no joke. There had been plenty of precedents for such an appointment, and it did not violate organizational procedures in the slightest.
But Director