Sun Fuling (; September 1921 – 18 May 2018) was a Chinese business executive and politician. He was General Manager of Fuxing Flour Mill, one of the largest Chinese-owned factories in Beijing, on the eve of the city's takeover by the Communist forces during the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...
. He was subsequently appointed the first director and general manager of the nationalized Beijing General Flour Mill before entering politics. He served as deputy mayor of
Beijing
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Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
from 1983 to 1993 and
from 1993 to 2003. He was a member of the
China Democratic National Construction Association
The China National Democratic Construction Association (CNDCA), sometimes translated as the China Democratic National Construction Association (CDNCA), also known by its Chinese abbreviation Minjian (), is one of the eight legally recognized ...
(Minjian).
Early life and education
Sun was born in September 1921 in
Heihe
Heihe (; ; Russian: Хэйхэ) is a prefecture-level city of northern Heilongjiang province, China, located on the Russian border, on the south bank of the Amur (Heilong) River, across the river from Blagoveshchensk. At the 2020 census, 1 ...
,
Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...
Province, but was a considered a native of his
ancestral home
An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...
Shaoxing
Shaoxing (; ) is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. It was formerly known as Kuaiji and Shanyin and abbreviated in Chinese as (''Yuè'') from the area's former inhabitants ...
,
Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by ...
, by Chinese convention.
From 1938 to 1940, he studied in the Department of Physics,
Yenching University
Yenching University (), was a university in Beijing, China, that was formed out of the merger of four Christian colleges between the years 1915 and 1920. The term "Yenching" comes from an alternative name for old Beijing, derived from its status ...
and the Department of Mathematics,
Southwest Union University
When the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out between China and Japan in 1937, Peking University, Tsinghua University and Nankai University merged to form Changsha Temporary University in Changsha and later National Southwestern Associated Universi ...
. From 1941 to 1945, he studied at the Political Economics Department of
Guanghua University
East China Normal University (ECNU) is a comprehensive public research university in Shanghai, China. It was formed in 1951 by the merger of the Great China University (est. 1924) and Kwang Hua University (est. 1925) and originated from the St. ...
(then exiled in
Chengdu
Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese provin ...
during World War II) and the Economics Department of
West China Union University
The West China Union University ( zh, t=華西協合大學), also called West China University or Huaxi University, was a private university in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. It was the product of the collective efforts of four Protestant, denominational ...
, from which he graduated in 1945.
Business career
Sun was deeply influenced by his paternal uncle, the famous entrepreneur
Sun Yueqi
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
, who believed in saving China through industry. In December 1948, during the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...
, he was appointed general manager of Fuxing Flour Mill (), then one of the largest Chinese-owned factories in Beijing, just before the city was taken by the Communist Party's
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, ...
.
He made major donations to the
People's Volunteer Army
The People's Volunteer Army (PVA) was the armed expeditionary forces deployed by the People's Republic of China during the Korean War. Although all units in the PVA were actually transferred from the People's Liberation Army under the order ...
during the
Korean War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Korean War
, partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict
, image = Korean War Montage 2.png
, image_size = 300px
, caption = Clockwise from top: ...
, and cooperated with the new Communist government in its campaign to nationalize China's private businesses. When 11 private-owned flour mills were partially nationalized and reorganized into the Beijing General Flour Mill, Sun was appointed its first director and general manager.
Political career
From 1958 to 1983, Sun served as director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Service Management, deputy director of the Municipal Foreign Trade Bureau, chairman of the Beijing Federation of Industry and Commerce, deputy chairman of Minjian Beijing Committee, and deputy chairman of the Beijing CPPCC.
From 1983 to 1993, he served as deputy mayor of Beijing, and vice chairman and executive vice chairman of All China Federation of Industry and Commerce. In March 1993, he was elected Vice Chairman of the Eighth National Committee of the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). In March 1998, he was re-elected as the vice chairman of the Ninth CPPCC National Committee, serving until 2003.
He was also a member of the 2nd to 5th CPPCC National Committee and the 6th and 7th CPPCC Standing Committee.
Death
On 18 May 2018, Sun died in Beijing at the age of 96.
His body was cremated on 24 May and his ashes buried at the
Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery
The Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery () is Beijing's main resting place for the highest-ranking revolutionary heroes, high government officials and, in recent years, individuals deemed of major importance due to their contributions to society. In ...
. Before the cremation,
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 ...
general secretary
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derive ...
Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...
, Premier
Li Keqiang
Li Keqiang (born 1 July 1955) is a Chinese politician who is the outgoing premier of China. An economist by profession, Li is head of China's executive branch as well as one of the leading figures behind China's Financial and Economic Affai ...
, and all other members of the
Party Politburo Standing Committee paid their final respects at the cemetery.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sun, Fuling
1921 births
2018 deaths
Chinese chief executives
Businesspeople from Heilongjiang
Deputy mayors of Beijing
Vice Chairpersons of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
20th-century Chinese businesspeople