Wang Dong xing

In thisChinese name,thefamily nameisWang.

Wang Dong xing
Uông đông hưng
Wang Dong xing in 1955, as chief of Mao's personal security force
Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party
In office August 1977 – February 1980
Chairman	Hua Guofeng
Personal details
Born	(1916-01-09)9 January 1916 Yiyang County,Jiangxi,China
Died	21 August 2015(2015-08-21)(aged 99) Beijing,China
Political party	Chinese Communist Party

Wang Dong xing(Chinese:Uông đông hưng;Wade–Giles:Wang Tung-hsing;9 January 1916 – 21 August 2015) was a Chinese military commander and politician, famous for being the chief ofMao Zedong's personal bodyguard force, the9th Bureauof theMinistry of Public Security(which included the8341 Special Regiment). Wang held many important positions, both in theChinese Communist Party(CCP) and the government; he was Deputy Minister of Public Security in 1955–1958 and again in 1960–1970 and notably served asCCP Vice Chairmanfrom 1977 to 1980, underChairmanHua Guofeng.

Wang and his trusted security force played a very significant role in ending theCultural Revolutionby arresting theGang of Four;however, Wang opposedDeng Xiaoping's proposed changes in economic policy, remaining loyal to Hua Guofeng and the continuation of the Maoist political line. As a result, when Deng consolidated power, he removed Wang from his government and Party posts, but did not harm him any further.

Early life and military service

Wang was born to a peasant family inYiyang County, Jiangxion 9 January 1916. He joined theCommunist Youth League of Chinain 1932, and theChinese Red Army(the predecessor of thePeople's Liberation Army) in 1933, at the age of 17. He received military and political training at thePengyang Infantry Schooland later at theAnti-Japanese Military and Political University.In 1934-35 he took part in theLong March,accompanying Mao toYan'an.He later fought as aninfantryofficer in thewar against Japan,and, after the defeat of the Japanese, in theChinese Civil War,which led to the establishment of thePeople's Republic of Chinain 1949.

Mao's chief of security

With the creation of the newCommunistgovernment, Wang Dong xing was named deputy director of theGeneral Office of the Chinese Communist Party(an important bureaucratic position dealing with administration and personnel) and, crucially, Director of the 9th Bureau of theMinistry of Public Security,in charge ofMao Zedong's personal security detail, and also of protectingZhongnanhai,the seat of government power. The 9th Bureau included the8341 Special Regiment.Wang and his men were the only ones allowed to carry weapons inside Zhongnanhai. Mao trusted Wang, and made him responsible for checking the background of all staff serving in Zhongnanhai (not only bodyguards, but also waiters, cooks, secretaries etc.)

Mao's continued trust and support led to Wang becoming, in 1955, Deputy Minister of Public Security, under MinisterLuo Ruiqing.For "his efforts in public security work",Wang was awarded the rank ofMajor Generalof the ChinesePeople's Liberation Army,also in 1955.

In June 1958 Mao suddenly demoted Wang, sending him toJiangxias Director of the Provincial Land Reclamation Department. From February 1959 to August 1960, Wang served as member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party Jiangxi Provincial Committee, and as vice president and Party Secretary of the Communist Labor University of Jiangxi.

However, in August 1960, Mao decided to recall Wang back toBeijing,and named him, again, chief of his bodyguards and Deputy Minister of Public Security, under MinisterXie Fuzhi(Xie was also very loyal to Mao). Throughout the chaos and instability of theCultural Revolution,Wang remained a loyal and effective associate of Mao, although he couldn't prevent theRed Guardsfrom denouncing and attacking many security officers of the Ministry of Public Security (Minister Xie explicitly allowed and even encouraged his favored Red Guard factions to attack security officials loyal to his predecessorLuo Ruiqing).

In 1966, at the start of the Cultural Revolution, Wang Dong xing was often seen in the great Red Guard rallies, sitting next to Mao's chauffeur in the open-top car from which Mao reviewed his supporters.

Arresting the Gang of Four and prominence under Hua Guofeng

Wang was instrumental in the coup d'état against theGang of Fourimmediately after Mao's death. On orders fromHua Guofeng(Mao's designated successor) he assembled a group of trusted officers, made them swear an oath of loyalty and secrecy, and instructed them to "shoot to kill"if there was any armed resistance.

In the event, no blood was shed: Jiang Qing's three close associates (Zhang Chunqiao,Yao WenyuanandWang Hongwen) were quickly and easily arrested after being lured to a high-level meeting in Zhongnanhai, ostensibly to discuss the building ofMao's Mausoleumand the publication of his latest works. Jiang herself was seized separately, again with no resistance.

Wang Dong xing was prominent under ChairmanHua Guofeng,being namedVice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Partyand one of the five members of thePolitburo Standing Committee,a committee whose membership varies between 5 and 11 and includes the top leadership of theChinese Communist Party.

Later years

Wang Dong xing and his patron Hua Guofeng were gradually outmaneuvered byDeng Xiaopingwho rose to supreme power and were deprived of all their important government and Party posts in the early 1980s.

However, as a gesture both to Wang's role as personal protector of Mao, and also to signal that political foes would no longer be persecuted, Wang was elected to the last alternate position of theCPC Central Committeeat the12th National Congress,in 1982.

After Mao's death, Wang remained a constant supporter of the chairman's memory, always visiting the mausoleum inTiananmen Squarewith flowers on Mao's birthday, and also published a diary in 1993 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Mao's birth.

In 2011 he complained that Chinese socialism was in retreat, and that everyone was now "fixated on getting money".No Chinese political leader would have dared talk publicly in such a way, but Wang remained wedded to his early beliefs (thus becoming a champion of theChinese New Left), declaring himself "a loyal soldier of Chairman Mao to the end".

Wang died on 21 August 2015 in Beijing at the age of 99.

See also

• Wu De
• Ji Dengkui

References

Sources

• Mao's Last Revolution,byRoderick MacFarquharand Michael Schoenhals, Harvard University Press 2006.