The Zhao Jianmin Spy Case (), or Zhao Jianmin Wrong Case (), was a major fabricated spy case in

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

province during the

Chinese Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

, with more than 1.387 million people implicated and persecuted, which accounted for 6% of the total population in Yunnan at the time. From 1968–1969, more than 17,000 people died in a

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

while 61,000 people were crippled for life; in

Kunming Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...

(the capital of Yunnan) alone, 1,473 people were killed and 9,661 people were left disabled as a result.

Brief history

In March 1967, Zhao Jianmin, then provincial secretary of the Communist Party in Yunnan, suggested to

Kang Sheng Kang Sheng (; 4 November 1898 – 16 December 1975) was a Chinese Communist politician best known for having overseen the CCP's internal security and intelligence apparatus during the early 1940s and again at the height of the Cultural Revolut ...

in person that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) should resolve the issues of Cultural Revolution in a democratic manner, but receiving no immediate response from the latter. However, Kang Sheng (then head of the party's internal intelligence agency of the

Central Social Affairs Department The Central Social Affairs Department (SAD) () was the intelligence & counter-intelligence organ of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership prior to established in 1936 and is considered the predecessor of the contemporary Chinese Ministry ...

) wrote a secret report on Zhao to

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

afterwards, claiming that Zhao opposed the Central Committee of CCP, Chairman Mao and the Cultural Revolution. In August 1967, Mao Zedong as well as the Central Committee of CCP approved that the national and local media may publicly criticize " capitalist roaders" among the top provincial officials in China. A total of 55 high-ranking officials were criticized, including Zhao Jianmin. In 1968, Zhao Jianmin was branded by Kang Sheng and his allies as "a spy of

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

(KMT)" as well as "traitor", and was regarded as one of the "local proxies" of

Liu Shaoqi Liu Shaoqi ( ; 24 November 189812 November 1969) was a Chinese revolutionary, politician, and theorist. He was Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee from 1954 to 1959, First Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party from 1956 to 1966 and C ...

, the 2nd President of China who was persecuted to death in 1969 as a "traitor" and "capitalist roader". Zhao was subsequenrly imprisoned for 8 years. At the same time, a massive search and purge of members of the fabricated "Zhao Jianmin KMT Spy Agency in Yunnan" was carried out, resulting in the arrest and persecution of more than 1.38 million civilians and officials.

Tan Furen Tan Furen () (April 1, 1910 – December 17, 1970) was a lieutenant general in the People's Liberation Army and People's Republic of China politician. Born in Renhua County, Guangdong Province, he was governor of Yunnan Province. A veteran of the ...

, 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, ...

, was appointed by Mao Zedong and the Central Committee of CCP to take charge of the purge.

Aftermath

On December 17, 1970, Tan Furen and his wife were assassinated. After the Cultural Revolution, Zhao Jianmin was officially rehabilitated during the "

Boluan Fanzheng Boluan Fanzheng () or Poluan Fancheng, was a History of the People's Republic of China (1976–1989)#Boluan Fanzheng and economic reform, period in the History of the People's Republic of China, history of People's Republic of China during which ...

" period and subsequently became a vice director of the Third Ministry of Machine Building.

References

{{Cultural Revolution Cultural Revolution 1968 in China Events in Yunnan Man-made disasters in China Massacres in China Massacres committed by the People's Republic of China

Brief history

Aftermath

See also

References