Liu Zhenwu (; born August 1945) is a retired general ('' shangjiang'') of the Chinese

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, ...

(PLA). He was the first Commander of the

PLA Hong Kong Garrison The People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison is a garrison of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), responsible for defence duties in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) since the sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred to ...

, and later served as Deputy Commander and Commander of 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 Deputy Chief of the

PLA General Staff Department The Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission (JSDCMC) () is the command organ and the headquarters for the People's Liberation Army (PLA), superseding the former PLA General Staff Department (GSD). It was established on 11 J ...

Biography

Liu Zhenwu was born in August 1945 in

Nan County Nan County, or Nanxian () is a counties of China, county in the Provinces of China, Province of Hunan, China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yiyang. Located in the northern margin of the province, the county is bor ...

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 ...

Province. He enlisted in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in July 1961, serving in the 370th Regiment of the 124th Division of the

42nd Group Army The 74th Group Army (), formerly the 42nd Group Army, is a military formation of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Ground Forces (PLAGF). The 74th Group Army is one of twelve total group armies of the PLAGF, the largest echelon of ground force ...

. He joined the

Communist Party of China 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 Civil ...

(CPC) in June 1964. Starting as an ordinary soldier, Liu rose through the ranks of the 42nd Army, becoming

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

in August 1983. In 1987 he studied military science at the

PLA National Defence University The People's Liberation Army National Defence University () is a Beijing-based national military university administered by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and funded by the Central Military Commission. The university is the highest militar ...

. He became deputy commander of the 42nd Army in December 1989, and commander in July 1992. He was promoted to the rank of major general in July 1990. In 1994, when the

was being formed in preparation for the

transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong Sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China (PRC) at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the former colony. Hong Kong was established as a special admini ...

, Liu was named its first commander. In this capacity, he toured Hong Kong's military bases and facilities in July 1996, accompanied by Major General

Bryan Dutton Major-General Bryan Hawkins Dutton, CB, CBE (born 1 March 1943) is a former British Army officer who served the last Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong, from 1994 to 1997. He was subsequently Director-General of the Leonard Cheshire Fo ...

, the outgoing commander of the

British Forces Overseas Hong Kong British Forces Overseas Hong Kong comprised the elements of the British Army, Royal Navy (including Royal Marines) and Royal Air Force stationed in British Hong Kong. The Governor of Hong Kong also assumed the position of the commander-in-c ...

. Soon after Hong Kong's handover from Britain to China on 1 July 1997, Liu was promoted to lieutenant general at the end of the month, outranking his British predecessors. He commanded about 15,000 soldiers in the garrison, most of whom were based across the border in mainland China. In September 1997, he became an alternate member of the

15th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China 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 ...

. In March 1999, Liu became Deputy Commander of the

, which oversaw the Hong Kong Garrison. He was promoted to Commander of the Guangzhou MR in January 2002, and became a full member of the 16th Central Committee in November. He was awarded the rank of full general ('' shangjiang'') in June 2004. In June 2007, Liu was transferred to Beijing to serve as Deputy Chief of the

, a position he held until July 2009. He retired from his military career, and was appointed in February 2010 as deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the

11th National People's Congress The 11th National People's Congress () met for a 5-year term, from 2008 to 2013. It held five annual two week plenary sessions during this period. It succeeded the 10th National People's Congress. There were 2,987 deputies elected to the 11t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Zhenwu 1945 births Living people People's Liberation Army generals from Hunan Commanders of the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong garrison Commanders of the Guangzhou Military Region People from Nan County