Wei Guoqing

In this Chinese name, the family name is Wei.
Wei Guoqing
韦国清
Wei Guoqing
Director of the People's Liberation Army General Political Department
In office
August 1977 – September 1982
Preceded byZhang Chunqiao
Succeeded byYu Qiuli
Party Secretary of Guangdong
In office
October 1975 – January 1979
GovernorHimself
Preceded byZhao Ziyang
Succeeded byXi Zhongxun
Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
In office
17 January 1975 – 14 June 1989
ChairpersonZhu De→Song Qingling→Ye Jianying→Peng Zhen→Wan Li
Party Secretary of Guangxi
In office
January 1967 – October 1975
GovernorHimself
Preceded byQiao Xiaoguang
Succeeded byAn Pingsheng
In office
July 1961 – April 1966
Preceded byLiu Jianxun
Succeeded byQiao Xiaoguang
In office
August 1955 – June 1956
Preceded byZhang Yunyi
Succeeded byChen Manyuan
Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
In office
5 January 1965 – 17 June 1983
ChairpersonZhou Enlai→Deng Xiaoping
Political Commissar of the Guangzhou Military Region
In office
November 1966 – August 1977
Preceded byTao Zhu
Succeeded byXiang Zhonghua
Personal details
BornWei Bangkuan
(1913-09-02)2 September 1913
Donglan County, Guangxi, China
Died14 June 1989(1989-06-14) (aged 75)
Beijing, China
PartyChinese Communist Party
Spouse(s)Liang Zhengxiang
Xu Qiqian
Children5
Alma materCounter-Japanese Military and Political University
Military service
Allegiance People's Republic of China
Branch/service
Years of service1929–1982
Rank General
Battles/warsSecond Sino-Japanese War
Chinese Civil War
First Indochina War
Awards
  • Order of August 1 (2nd Class Medal; 1955)
  • Order of Independence and Freedom (1st Class Medal; 1955)
  • Order of Liberation (1st Class Medal; 1955)
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese韦国清
Traditional Chinese韋國清
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinWéi Guóqīng
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingWai5 Gwok3-cing1
Wei Bangkuan
Simplified Chinese韦邦宽
Traditional Chinese韋邦寬
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinWéi Bāngkuān
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingWai5 Bong1-fun1
Zhuang name
ZhuangVeiz Gozcing

Wei Guoqing (Chinese: 韦国清; pinyin: Wéi Guóqīng; Zhuang: Veiz Gozcing; 2 September 1913 – 14 June 1989) was a Chinese government official, military officer and political commissar of Zhuang ethnicity. He served as the Chairman of Guangxi from 1958 to 1975 and on the Chinese Communist Party's Politburo (1973–1982) and as Director of the People's Liberation Army's General Political Department (1977–1982). Wei was one of the few members of the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th Central Committees (1969–1987) and the 10th through 12th politburos not purged during the Cultural Revolution or Deng Xiaoping's backlash.[1] He was also a Vice Chair of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (1975–1989) and of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (1964–1983).

Biography

From left: Han Zhenji, Liang Xingchu, Huang Kecheng, Zhang Aiping and Wei Guoqing, marking the meeting of the Fifth Column of the Eighth Route Army and the Northern Jiangsu Command of the New Fourth Army in Dongtai, Jiangsu on October 10, 1940.

Wei was born in Donglan, Guangxi, to a poor Zhuang minority family.[2] He joined the Chinese Red Army at the age of 16 (1929) and the CCP in 1931. He rose to the rank of battalion commander in the Seventh Army under Deng Xiaoping and was a regimental commander on the Long March. After the Long March he served in the 344th Brigade, and then marched south under Huang Kecheng's 5th Column in January 1940.[3] By 1944, he commanded the 4th Division of the New Fourth Army, and later three columns (the 2nd, 10th and 12th) of the North Jiangsu Army in the Huai-Hai Campaign. In 1948, Wei held off the Nationalist 2nd Army Corps of Qiu Qingquan and 100 tanks of the 5th Corps under the command of Jiang Weiguo (Chiang Wei-kuo, Chiang Kai-shek's son) in a decisive delaying action in the Huai-Hai Campaign.[4] In 1949, Wei was deputy political commissar of General Ye Fei's Tenth Army Group of the Third Field Army.

Vietnam

Wei was deeply involved in China's relations with North Vietnam from 1950. In April of that year, Liu Shaoqi sent him to Vietnam as head of the Chinese Military Advisory Group, to advise Ho Chi Minh on fighting the French.[5]

In October 1953, Wei reportedly personally gave Ho Chi Minh a copy of the French Navarre plan.[6]

In June 1954, Wei attended the 1954 Geneva Conference on Indochina with Premier Zhou Enlai, USSR Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov, Vietnamese representative Phạm Văn Đồng, US State Department official Bedell Smith and UK Deputy Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs for Administration Anthony Eden. Wei was specifically instructed to discuss military matters with the Vietnamese delegation when Molotov, Smith and Eden were not present.[7]

When formal military ranks were introduced in 1955, Wei Guoqing was made a general, and in 1956 became an Alternate Member of the Central Committee at the Eighth National Party Congress.[8]

Guangxi

See also: Guangxi Massacre

After returning to China, Wei moved to Nanning, Guangxi, where he was the senior party (1961-Cultural Revolution) and government (1955-Cultural Revolution) official in Guangxi Autonomous Region for an unusually long period. It was from Guangxi and Yunnan that Chinese troops entered Vietnam in 1965–1970.[9]

In his role as the senior-most official in Guangxi, Wei hosted the January 1958 Nanning Conference, attended by Chairman Mao Zedong and most of the very top leadership.[10] While Wei was a junior among the heavyweights, he was present at one of the decisive Great Leap Forward discussions where outrageous targets were approved.[11]

General Wei was named 1st Political Commissar of the Guangxi Military District (MD) in January 1964, a post he held until October 1975. He added the leadership of the CCP committee in February 1971.[12]

During the Cultural Revolution, Wei managed to keep control of Guangxi. Throughout the Cultural Revolution in Guangxi, there was a “correct line” represented by Wei Guoqing from beginning to end. The Central Committee of the CPC was fundamentally unable to carry out investigations about Cultural Revolution in Guangxi.[13] Both the Guangxi Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial Military District and the Revolutionary Committees were basically “Pro-Wei” or conservative factions during the whole revolution.

Since 1958, he served as the Chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Government, and Secretary of the Secretariat, Second Secretary, and First Secretary of the CPC Guangxi Regional Committee. In January 1958, Wei Guoqing, the highest-ranking official in Guangxi, organized the Nanning Conference, which was attended by Mao Zedong and other top leaders.[14] This conference determined the progress of the Great Leap Forward and approved several inflated targets.[15] These actions lay the groundwork for the Cultural Revolution.[15]

In 1964 and 1966, Wei Guoqing concurrently served as the First Political Commissar of the Guangxi and Guangzhou Military Regions.[16]

In the early stages of the Cultural Revolution in 1966, Wei Guoqing experienced a period where his powers were weakened and marginalized.[17] In August 1966, the Central Committee decided to remove Wei Guoqing from the First Secretary position and transfer him to serve as the Second Secretary of the Central South Bureau.[17] The decision was never implemented. This means Wei never left Guangxi.[17] In November 1967, Wei Guoqing presented a self-criticism titled “My Self-Criticism Regarding the Errors in Direction and Line Committed During the Great Cultural Revolution in Guangxi. (“我在广西文化大革命中所犯方向路线错误的检讨”).”[18]

In early April 1968, Wei Guoqing, along with the commanders of the Guangzhou and Guangxi Military Regions and others, internally designated the Guangxi 4·22 group as a “Counter-Revolutionary Organization”.[19] At the end of April, Wei started suppressing 4·22 and instructed, “They will not shed tears until they see the coffin; regarding the attitude toward counter-revolutionary riots, first is opposition, and second is fearlessness… take the initiative to launch a fierce offensive against class enemies (不见棺材不掉泪，对待反革命暴动的态度，一是反对，二是不怕……主动对阶级敌人发起猛烈的进攻。)”.[19]

Wei Guoqing placed factional figures in important positions, such as Shi Qingsheng (史清盛), Liu Zhonggui (刘重贵), Zhao Maoxun (赵茂勋), and Xiao Han (肖寒).[19]

At the same time, the Guangxi Coordination Group headed by Wei Guoqing and the Guangxi Sub-district, issued the “Announcement Regarding the Uncovering of the Counter-Revolutionary Case of the ‘Guangxi Branch of the Republic of China Anti-Communist National Salvation Army (《关于破获反革命集团“中华民国反共救国团广西分团”反革命案件的公告》)’”, which was categorized as a major unjust case after the Cultural Revolution. For example, Shangsi County (上思县) had a population of 120,000 at the time; 1,639 people were murdered or beaten to death, accounting for 1.34%, including 162 cadres, 61 workers, 720 peasants, and 689 members of the "Four Categories".[19]

“Handling of Leftover Issues” in the 1980s, Wei Guoqing was extremely dissatisfied with the Central Committee’s “legacy handling” policy of expelling all those who had eaten human flesh from the Party and their administrative posts.[20] Wei even asked in retort: “Why can’t people who have eaten human beings continue to serve as cadres? (为什么吃过人的人不能继续当干部？)”.[20]

Due to the Central Committee’s need for local stability, Wei Guoqing regained power. In 1968, the attitude of central leaders, headed by Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, shifted from supporting to suppressing the Guangxi rebel faction “4·22”.  In the “July Third Notice (七三布告)” issued by the CPC Central Committee in 1968, the Central Committee approved the report from the Guangxi Provincial Revolutionary Preparatory Group and the Guangxi Military District led by Wei Guoqing.[21] The Center Committee permitted the various massacres involved in Wei Guoqing’s use of military force to suppress the “4·22” mass organization.[21]

In 1974, Wei primarily focused on holding various large-scale conferences. He required various regions to learn from the revolutionary spirit of Dazhai(大寨革命精神).[22]

In 1976, Wei Guoqing served as the First Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Revolutionary Committee.[23] On November 27, 1977, the Guangxi Provincial Party Committee, led by Wei Guoqing, released through education. Shen Shengquan(沈升权), who had taken the lead in killing and cannibalism. In August 1982, the Liberation Army Daily, which was under Wei’s direct jurisdiction, published a polemic viewed as an attack on Deng Xiaoping.[22] Due to the publication, Wei Guoqing was fired from his post. Following the fall of Wei Guoqing, it was not until the “Handling of Legacy Issues” of the Cultural Revolution began in 1983 that Shen Shengquan was arrested again and sentenced to twelve years in prison.[24]

In 1983, the investigation into Cultural Revolution legacy issues identified Wei Guoqing committed errors.[22] Wei ended his tenure as  Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)(政协全国委员会副主席) in July 1983, after serving since December 1964.[25]

In 1988, Wei Guoqing named as Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the 7th National People's Congress(为第七届全国人大常委会副委员长).[26] “Wei Guoqing ontinued to hold office in the central government until his death in 1989.”[27] Wei Guoqing’s self-criticism of his leadership in Guangxi was that Wei acknowledged mistakes in leadership direction rather than directly taking responsibility.[27] This expression helped him avoid absolution and reintegration.

Central leadership

In August 1982, Liberation Army Daily, the newspaper directly under General Political Department Director Wei's authority, published a broadside against "bourgeois liberalization" that was seen as an attack on Deng Xiaoping's policies just prior to the 12th Party Congress. As a result, Wei was dismissed, and replaced by General Yu Qiuli.[28] He resigned from his posts in 1985 and died in Beijing in June 1989.[29][30]

See also

References

  1. ^ The others were Marshall Ye Jianying, General Xu Shiyou, economist Li Xiannian, and "mass" representative Ni Zhifu
  2. ^ Editorial Board, Who's Who in China Current Leaders (Foreign Languages Press: Beijing, 1989), ISBN 0-8351-2352-9), pp.728-729
  3. ^ Whitson, William and Huang Chen-hsia, The Chinese High Command: A History of Chinese Military Politics, 1927–71 (Praeger Publishers: New York, 1973), p. 219.
  4. ^ Whitson, pp. 197-198.
  5. ^ Li Xiaobing, A history of the modern Chinese Army (University Press of Kentucky, 2007), ISBN 0-8131-2438-7, ISBN 978-0-8131-2438-4 p. 208
  6. ^ Qiang Zhai, China and the Vietnam Wars, 1950–1975 (UNC Press, 2000) ISBN 0-8078-4842-5, ISBN 978-0-8078-4842-5 p. 45.
  7. ^ "Cold War International History Project". 31 March 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  8. ^ Who's Who, p. 729.
  9. ^ Li Xiaobing, p. 219.
  10. ^ Teiwes, Frederick C. and Sun, Warren, China's road to disaster: Mao, central politicians, and provincial leaders in the unfolding of the great leap forward, 1955–1959 (M.E. Sharpe, 1999) ISBN 0-7656-0201-6, ISBN 978-0-7656-0201-5, pp. 234-235.
  11. ^ Chan, Alfred L., Mao's crusade: politics and policy implementation in China's great leap forward (Oxford University Press, 2001), ISBN 0-19-924406-5, ISBN 978-0-19-924406-5 p. 116
  12. ^ Lamb, Malcolm, Directory of Officials and Organizations in China: 1968–83 (M.E. Sharpe, Inc: Armonk, 1983) ISBN 0-87332-277-0 ( pp. 502-503
  13. ^ Yan Lebin晏乐斌：〈我参与处理广西文革遗留问题〉(About I Participated in Handling Leftover Issue of the Cultural Revolution in Guangxi)，《炎黄春秋》，2012年第11期，页13-20。
  14. ^ Frederick C. Teiwes and Warren Sun. (1999). China's Road to Disaster: Mao, Central Politicians, and Provincial Leaders in the Unfolding of the Great Leap Forward, 1955-1959. M.E. Sharpe, pp. 234-235.
  15. ^ a b Alfred L. Chan. (2001). Mao's Crusade: Politics and Policy Implementation in China's Great Leap Forward. Oxford University Press, p. 116.
  16. ^ 中共中央文献资料. Available at: https://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/64162/126778/127857/7537521.html Accessed 28 March.2026.
  17. ^ a b c 中共广西壮族自治区委员会.(1988). <广西文革大事记（机密版）之一>(1988年12月30日). 档案文件。Available at: 1988-12-30-广西文革大事记（机密版）之一-中共广西壮族自治区委员会...-0-7-9-000015.htm
  18. ^ 韦国清检讨. (1967). <我在广西文化大革命中所犯方向路线错误的检讨> 1967.11.6. Available at: 1967-11-6-我在广西文化大革命中所犯方向路线错误的检讨-韦国清-0-8-3-000035.htm
  19. ^ a b c d 广西区党委处理“文革”遗留问题相关机构.(1983). <韦国清同志在广西“文革”期间所犯错误的事实依据> Available at: 1983-6-17-韦国清同志在广西“文革”期间所犯错误的事实依据-广西区党委处理“文革”遗...-0-0-23-000023.htm
  20. ^ a b 郑义.(1997).《红色纪念碑》，页103。
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  27. ^ a b Guoqing, Song (2020). “Healing the wounds”?: redressing state crimes in Guangxi after the cultural Revolution (Doctoral thesis thesis). Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg.
  28. ^ Lampton, David M., Paths to Power: Elite Mobility in Contemporary China (Michigan Monographs in Chinese Studies, Volume 55, The University of Michigan Center for Chinese Studies, Ann Arbor 1986), ISBN 0-89264-064-2, p. 197
  29. ^ Ruan, Ming (2019). Deng Xiaoping: Chronicle of an Empire. Taylor & Francis. p. 256. ISBN 9780429720154.
  30. ^ Calkins, Laura M. (2011). "Wei Guoqing". In Tucker, Spencer C. (ed.). The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History, 2nd Edition [4 volumes]: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-85109-961-0.
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