Chi Haotian (; born 9 July 1929), also spelled as Chih Hao-tien, is a retired

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

of the Chinese

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the China, People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five Military branch, service branches: the People's ...

. He served as Minister of National Defence from 1993 to 2003.

Biography

Chi was born 9 July 1929 in Zhaoyuan,

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in His ...

, Republic of China. In October 1946 he joined the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...

(CCP). He was recruited to the army in July 1945, and graduated from the synthesis department of Military Academy of PLA. In 1973, he became the vice political commissar of Beijing Military Region, and vice editor in chief of a prominent newspaper "People's Daily". He later became vice director of the general staff department of PLA and the director of political department under it, the political commissar of Jinan Military Region, and the head of the general staff department of PLA as well as the secretary of CCP's committee there. He was elected as a member of central military commission in 1988. In May and June 1989, Chi played an important role in directing the military's enforcement of martial law in Beijing to suppress the

Tiananmen Square Protests The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourt ...

in the national capital. As chief of staff he instructed the commanding officers of the Beijing, Shenyang, and Jinan Military Districts to "finalize the name list of every group army division scheduled to advance into Beijing and their exact times of departure and arrival, as well as details regarding primary duties", according to the "Daily report" (Meiri yibao) from the Central Military Commission Office, dated 19 May 1989. This military buildup resulted in the so-called Beijing massacre, which took place on 4 June that year. In 1993 Chi became a state council member and the Minister of National Defense until 2003. He was also the director of the Law of National Defense Draft Commission. He was elected to be vice chairman of the central military commission of the CCP in September 1995, and CMC of the state in December that year. On 19 October 1999, after meeting with Syrian Defence Minister Mustafa Tlass in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, Syria, to discuss expanding military ties between China and Syria, Chi then flew directly to Israel and met with

Ehud Barak Ehud Barak ( he-a, אֵהוּד בָּרָק, Ehud_barak.ogg, link=yes, born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli general and politician who served as the tenth prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until Jan ...

, the then prime minister and Defence Minister of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

where they discussed military relations. Among the military arrangements, was a 1 billion dollar Israeli Russian sale of military aircraft to China, which were to be jointly produced by

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

and Israel."China defense minister visits Israel".
''World Tribune''. Thursday, 21 October 1999 He was elected as a member of central committee of CCP's 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th National Congresses, and a Politburo member at 15th Congress. He was awarded First-class honor in 1952, and Third-Class Liberation medal in 1985. He was made general in 1988.

References

External links

Chi Haotian at China Vitae
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chi, Haotian 1929 births Living people Ministers of National Defense of the People's Republic of China People's Liberation Army generals from Shandong Politicians from Yantai Chinese Communist Party politicians from Shandong People's Republic of China politicians from Shandong People's Liberation Army Chiefs of General Staff State councillors of China Members of the 12th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 13th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 14th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 15th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party Delegates to the 2nd National People's Congress Delegates to the 3rd National People's Congress Delegates to the 7th National People's Congress Delegates to the 8th National People's Congress Delegates to the 9th National People's Congress 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre