Gong Gucheng (; born December 1940) is a

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

in the

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

of China. He was an alternate member of the

14th 14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 (number), 13 and preceding 15 (number), 15. In relation to the word "four" (4), 14 is spelled "fourteen". In mathematics * 14 is a composite number. * 14 is a square pyramidal number. * 14 is a s ...

and

15th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party The 15th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party was in session from 1997 to 2002. The 14th Central Committee preceded it. It was followed by the 16th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. This was the first Central Committee ...

. He was a representative of the

16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party The 16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was held in Beijing between November 8 and 14, 2002. It was preceded by the 15th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. 2,114 delegates and 40 specially invited delegates ...

. He was a member of the Standing Committee of the 10th

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...

. Throughout his military career, he participated in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, the

Battle of the Paracel Islands The Battle of the Paracel Islands (Chinese: 西沙海战, Pinyin: Xisha Haizhan；Vietnamese: Hải chiến Hoàng Sa) was a military engagement between the naval forces of China and South Vietnam in the Paracel Islands on January 19, 1974. The ...

, and the

Sino-Vietnamese War The Sino-Vietnamese War (also known by #Names, other names) was a border war fought between China and Vietnam in early 1979. China launched an offensive in response to Vietnam's Cambodian–Vietnamese War, actions against the Khmer Rouge in 1 ...

Biography

Gong was born in the town of Baixi,

Xinhua County Xinhua County () is a county and the 4th most populous county-level division in the Province of Hunan, China; it is under the administration of Loudi City. Located along the middle reaches of the Zi River, it covers 3,635 square kilometers and ...

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

, in December 1940, to Gong Guoguang (), a primary school teacher, and Chen Yueying (), a small merchant. He is the first of seven children. He attended Xinhua County No. 1 High School. He joined the

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

(CCP) in December 1958, and enlisted in the

(PLA) in July 1960. He graduated from the PLA First Engineering Corps Technical School. In 1967, he was assigned to the

Guangzhou Military Region The Guangzhou Military Region was from 1955 to 2016 one of the People's Liberation Army PLA Military Regions, located in the south of the People's Republic of China. In May 1949, the Central China (Hua Zhong) Military Region (MR) was formed. In Mar ...

, and eventually becoming chief of staff in December 1993 and deputy commander in November 1996. In 1998, he served as commander in chief of

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

Flood Fighting Army, and in 1999, he served as commander in chief of

Yiyang Yiyang () is a prefecture-level city on the Zi River in Hunan province, China, straddling Lake Dongting and bordering Hubei to the north. According to the 2010 Census, Yiyang has a population of 4,313,084 inhabitants residing in an area of . The ...

Flood Fighting Army. On August 8, 1998, the then Premier

Zhu Rongji Zhu Rongji (; IPA: ; born 23 October 1928) is a retired Chinese politician who served as Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1998 to 2003 and CCP Politburo Standing Committee member from 1992 to 2002 along with the Chinese Communist ...

visited the disaster area in Hubei to inspect the disaster situation and hugged him closely. He retired in August 2008. He was promoted to the rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

('' shaojiang'') in July 1990 and

('' zhongjiang'') in July 1995.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gong, Gucheng 1940 births Living people People from Xinhua County People's Liberation Army generals from Hunan People's Republic of China politicians from Hunan Chinese Communist Party politicians from Hunan Members of the Standing Committee of the 10th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Alternate members of the 14th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Alternate members of the 15th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party