Liu Huaqing (; 1 October 1916 – 14 January 2011) was Chinese

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

and an

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

of the

People's Liberation Army Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN; ), also known as the People's Navy, Chinese Navy, or PLA Navy, is the maritime service branch of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAN traces its lineage to naval units fighting during the Chinese ...

, who served as the third Commander-in-Chief of the Navy from 1982 through 1988. He is considered to have greatly contributed to the modernization of the Chinese Navy, and is hailed as the "father of the modern Chinese Navy" and "father of Chinese aircraft carriers".

Biography

Taking over the role of Navy Commander-in-Chief from his predecessor

Ye Fei Ye Fei (; 7 May 1914 – 18 April 1999) was a Philippine-born Chinese military general and politician of the People's Republic of China. Born Sixto Mercado Tiongco in the Philippines to a Chinese father and a Filipino mother, he joined the Chi ...

(who retired due to health problems), Liu had outlined a three-step process by which China would have a navy of global reach by the second half of the 21st century. In step one, from 2000 to 2010, China would develop a naval force that could operate up to the first island chain. In step two, from 2010 to 2020, China's navy would become a regional force capable of projecting force to the

second island chain The Island chain strategy is a military strategy, strategic maritime containment plan first conceived by American foreign policy statesman John Foster Dulles in 1951, during the Korean War. It proposed surrounding the Soviet Union and China wi ...

. In step three, to be achieved by 2040, China would possess a

blue-water navy A blue-water navy is a maritime force capable of operating globally, essentially across the deep waters of open oceans. While definitions of what actually constitutes such a force vary, there is a requirement for the ability to exercise sea cont ...

centered around

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

s. He was a strong advocate of the

Chinese aircraft carrier programme Since the 1970s, China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has had ambitions to develop and operate aircraft carriers, and since 1985 has acquired four retired aircraft carriers for study; namely, the British-built Australian and the ex-S ...

. Liu encouraged technological innovation within China that would increase naval capabilities, but he also advocated large foreign purchases. During the 1960s and 1970s, Liu was responsible for naval research and development before heading national military research. He was also the top commander of the troops enforcing martial law 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 Fourth ...

on 3–4 June 1989. From 1992 to 1997 Liu was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee. He was the last Standing Committee member of an active military personnel. Since he left the Standing Committee in 1997, no other military leader has sat on the committee. Liu remained active through the mid-1990s and appeared in uniform at 2007 commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the founding of 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, ...

in Beijing. Liu died on 14 January 2011 in Beijing. His son

Liu Zhuoming Liu Zhuoming (; born July 1954) is a vice admiral (''zhong jiang'') of China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLA Navy). He serves as Deputy Director of the PLA General Armament Department's Science and Technology Commission. He is the son of ...

is a vice admiral of the PLA Navy. His daughter

Liu Chaoying Liu Chaoying (劉超英), or Helen Liu, was an executive at China Aerospace International Holdings which is the Hong Kong subsidiary of China's premier satellite developer, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (中國航天科技集 ...

, a former lieutenant colonel in the PLA, was a major figure in the

1996 United States campaign finance controversy The 1996 United States campaign finance controversy, or uncommonly referred to as Chinagate, was an effort by the People's Republic of China to influence domestic American politics prior to and during the Clinton administration and also inv ...

.Liu's Deals With Chung: An Intercontinental Puzzle
''Washington Post'', 24 May 1998. Retrieved 10 November 2020.

References

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Conference on Chinese Military Affairs, 10 October 2000 1916 births 2011 deaths Commanders of the People's Liberation Army Navy Chinese military writers Chinese military personnel of World War II People's Republic of China writers N. G. Kuznetsov Naval Academy alumni People from Xiaogan Writers from Hubei Members of the 14th Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Military theorists {{China-mil-bio-stub