Li dunbai

Li dunbai

Sidney Rittenberg (August 14, 1921 - August 24, 2019), a Jewish American scholar, was born in a Jewish family in Charleston, South Carolina.

He studied at Porter military school, Princeton University and North Carolina University, and joined the Communist Party of America in his youth. He joined the army in 1942 and was sent to Stanford American language school to study Chinese; he lived in China for a long time from 1944 to 1979, and then went to Yan'an to be responsible for handling American and Chinese civil affairs. After the founding of the people's Republic of China, Li dunbai chose to stay in China and join the Communist Party of China, becoming the first American to join the Communist Party of China. He once served in the Central People's radio station, and was jailed twice for his involvement in the so-called "Soviet spy case" and the "Bethune Yan'an rebellion" during the "Cultural Revolution"; in 1980, Li dunbai left China with his family, Living in fox Island, Washington, with his wife, Wang Yulin, the author of "foreigners behind the scenes: Memoirs of Li dunbai".

On August 24, 2019, Li dunbai died in Arizona at the age of 98.

Character experience

On August 14, 1921, Lee Dun Bai was born into a Jewish family in Charleston, South Carolina. His English name is Sidney Rittenberg.

Li dunbai had been "deviant" since he was a child. At the age of 17, he began to join the trade union and student movement, supporting the black people's liberation struggle. At the age of 19, he became a member of the American Communist Party.

In 1942, Li dunbai, who was also called Rittenberg at the time, enlisted in the army. According to the relevant regulations of the United States at that time, he had to break away from the party membership after joining the army. After the outbreak of the Pacific War, the US Army transferred Li dunbai to study Japanese, which made him very scared. Li dunbai thought that Japan would definitely be defeated and that the US military might be stationed there for a long time. China is an ally of the United States. After the victory, China can quickly return home to build its own country. As a result, Li dunbai insisted on learning Chinese and got his consent.

In 1943, Li dunbai was transferred to the army Language School of Stanford University to study Chinese (including Zhang Xueliang's daughter Zhang Luying and American writer Anna Louis strong) - but he never dreamed that this "difference" had changed the fate of his life, and he had been in China for 35 years.

On September 16, 1945, a month after the end of the Second World War, Li dunbai and his comrades took off from Assam state in Northeast India in a US military transport plane, flew over the 800 km long "Hump route" and came to Kunming, an important town in Southwest China. Li dunbai was assigned to the compensation Department of the Military Justice Department of the U.S. military in Kunming as a Chinese specialist, who was specially responsible for investigating the U.S. military's violations in the local area and the cases of local Chinese claiming compensation from the U.S. military. Here, the owner of Kaiming Bookstore gave him a real Chinese name, Li dunbai. This name added the word "Dun" in the middle of the name of Li Bai, the great poet of Tang Dynasty, which stands for integrity and is homonymous with "Rittenberg".

In November 1945, the US military in Kunming completed its historical mission and was ready to be demobilized. In order to avoid returning home, Li dunbai tried every means to transfer to the US Army headquarters in Shanghai. Through the introduction of Kunming underground party members, he and Shanghai underground party "connected", and met Song Qingling. Soon after, through Song Qingling's introduction, Li Dun Baicheng, a relief observer in the office of the United Nations Relief and Relief Administration in China, was tasked to send relief food to the disaster stricken areas, including the liberated areas. He was very happy because he "broke away" from the U.S. Army.

In 1946, Li dunbai was ordered to escort relief grain to the Central Plains liberated area in Hubei Province. Here, Li dunbai also met Zhou Enlai, Li Xiannian, Wang Zhen, Wang Shusheng and other senior generals of the Communist Party. When he was in Zhangjiakou, Li dunbai had already applied to join the Communist Party of China. When he arrived in Yan'an, he put forward the same request again, and asked Li Xiannian and Wang Zhen, whom he met in the Central Plains liberated areas, to be the introducers of Li dunbai. With the direct approval of Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and Ren Bishi, Li dunbai became the only one at that time Foreign Communist Party member. Shortly after that, strong visited Yan'an for the second time. Liao Chengzhi, head of Xinhua news agency, appointed Li dunbai as interpreter and interviewed Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and other comrades. Li dunbai translated some documents and materials into English for strong, and the two worked together to write and write. Li dunbai's work has been affirmed by the central leaders. At the end of 1946, Mao Zedong said in a talk with several Western journalists: "there are two kinds of Americans now. Mahead, Li dunbai and Smedley are all good Americans. A strong in Yan'an is also a good person. We welcome such people." At the same time, Li dunbai also deepened his impression of Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and other central leaders. In his later memoirs, he also made a comparison between Zhou Enlai and Mao Zedong. Li dunbai wrote: "when I am with Zhou Enlai, I think he is a friend and a comrade; when I am with Mao Zedong, I feel like I am sitting next to history."

In March 1947, Hu Zong of the Kuomintang attacked Yan'an in the south. Xinhua News Agency moved to Shexian county at the foot of Taihang Mountain and worked there for about a year. During this period, Li dunbai assisted Xinhua radio station in Northern Shaanxi to launch English broadcasting.

In May 1948, Xinhua News Agency moved to several villages near Xibaipo village, Pingshan County, Hebei Province, and worked under the direct leadership of the CPC Central Committee. At the end of 1948, strong, an American left-wing writer who helped the English newspaper "Moscow News" in Moscow, rushed back to the Soviet Union from the United States and was ready to go to Peking, which was about to be liberated. While passing through Eastern Europe, she excitedly published an article saying that the Chinese revolution was an independent victory, not a copy of the Soviet model. I don't want this to cause trouble. As soon as she arrived in Moscow, she was arrested and deported by the KGB, a Soviet spy organization. The Soviet Union believed that she was suspected of "spying and harming the interests of the Soviet Union". In addition, it also believed that she had arranged an "intelligence case" all over the world. Under her leadership, Li dunbai was responsible for collecting Chinese intelligence, and informed the Communist Party of China to arrest Li dunbai.

In 1949, strong, who worked as a newspaper in the Soviet Union, was accused of being a spy and put into prison, during which his first Chinese wife divorced Li dunbai.

In 1953, Stalin was released after his death. As a foreign expert in the Central People's radio station, he met Wang Yulin and married in 1956.

In January 1964, Mao Zedong admitted his mistakes and apologized to his foreign friends, including strong and Li dunbai, at a banquet in Beijing. Mao Zedong said to strong, "when you were in Yan'an, the Kuomintang started bombing. We worried about your safety and let you go. If you had stayed in Yan'an at that time, you would not have been arrested in Moscow as a spy. " Mao Zedong said to Li dunbai, "you are involved in her case. We made a bad mistake. You are a good comrade."

October 1, 1966 is also the celebration of the 17th anniversary of the founding of the people's Republic of China. On that day, strong, Li dunbai and other six foreign friends were invited to mount the Tiananmen Gate Tower, and Li dunbai was flattered. Towards 12 o'clock, six of them were invited to take a group photo with Mao Zedong. The next day, people's daily and all newspapers published a group photo of Mao Zedong and Li dunbai on the first page. As a result, Li dunbai's name spread all over the country.

During the "Cultural Revolution", Li dunbai was very radical. In 1967, Li dunbai became the leader of the "Bethune Yan'an rebellion group" and took power in China Radio International. On April 8 of the same year, Li dunbai published his article "the Chinese Cultural Revolution opened the channel to communism" in the people's daily. On April 10, Li dunbai, as a representative of foreigners, published a speech in Tsinghua University Fight Wang Guangmei. Li dunbai also took part in the criticism of Chen Yi, Lu Dingyi, Mei Yi and other old friends and leaders.

In February 1968, Li dunbai was arrested and put into prison. He was released and rehabilitated in November 1977, which lasted for nine years, eight months and one day. After his release from prison, Li dunbai did not return to the Broadcasting Bureau. Instead, he served as a consultant to Xinhua news agency and the Chinese Academy of social sciences.

In 1979, Li dunbai returned to the United States for a holiday and wrote for the New York Times.

On March 17, 1980, Li dunbai left China with his wife and children and returned to the United States, where he had been away for 35 years.

In 1982, after Wang Yulin's running in many ways, Li dunbai got a thorough vindication conclusion.

On February 11, 1986, Li dunbai and his wife Wang Yulin held a reception in Beijing Friendship Hotel to commemorate their 40 years in China and their 30 years of marriage.

Personal life

Li dunbai married his wife Wang Yulin on February 11, 1956 and had three sons and one daughter.

Character evaluation

In the mid-1940s, due to historical opportunity, Li dunbai came to China from the United States on the other side of the ocean. From then on, he had an indissoluble bond with him all his life. During his 35 years of working and living in China (1944-1979), Li dunbai witnessed many important historical events in contemporary China. He was the only foreign member of the Communist Party of China in the early days, and he was also a member of the Communist Party of China

"In China, I found my way to stability, reality and happiness. It never disappointed me."—— Li Dunbai

His name is Li Dunbai. He is praised by Mao Zedong as an "excellent communist fighter" and Zhou Enlai as a "strong international democratic fighter". He is a firm idealist and the first American Party member who volunteered to join the Communist Party of China. More than 70 years ago, he devoted himself enthusiastically to the Chinese revolution and was jailed twice because of the wrongs caused by the clinker fortune. Although he has experienced great ups and downs in his life, he has never changed his original intention and is always glowing for his beloved cause.

Now few people know such a legendary historical figure. Today, let's talk about some stories related to this American Communist Party member, so that our partners can learn more about those foreigners who have made silent contributions to China's revolution and construction.

Who is Li Dunbai? Why do we have an indissoluble bond with the Communist Party of China?

There were people who came all the way to China to support our great revolutionary cause. Inspired by the CPC, these people are willing to accept the CPC's program and propositions, and also willing to contribute to the cause of liberation of the Chinese people, thus becoming glorious CPC members. Because they still retain their original nationality, these special members are also called "foreign CPC members". Li Dunbai is one of them.

Before coming to China, Li Dunbai's original name was Sydney Littenberg. He was born on August 14, 1921 in Charleston, North Carolina, USA. He had been "rebellious" since childhood. At the age of 17, he began to participate in trade unions and student movements to support the liberation struggle of African Americans. At the age of 19, he became an American Communist. After the outbreak of the Pacific War, Littenberg, 21, enlisted in the US Army and was assigned to Stanford University's Army Language School to learn Chinese.

In September 1945, more than a month after the victory of the Second World War, Littenberg transferred from India to Yunnan, China, where he served as the Chinese Commissioner of the Military and Legal Department of the US Army in Kunming. He was mainly responsible for investigating the local violations of the US Army and the cases in which the local Chinese claimed compensation from the US military. In order to work in a better place, Littenberg decided to give himself a Chinese name. Because he often came across the lines of Li Bai, the great poet of the Tang Dynasty, during his study of Chinese, Littenberg borrowed Li Bai's name and added the word "dun" in the middle of "Li Bai", representing integrity and honesty.

Li Dunbai's first job in the military in Kunming gave him many opportunities to contact people of different social strata in China. He also gradually saw the corruption and dark rule of the Kuomintang authorities, and began to have a strong curiosity about the "legendary" honest and idealistic Communist Party of China.

In order to further understand China's social situation and learn Chinese well, Li Dunbai often buys Chinese newspapers and magazines, especially the Xinhua Daily and The Masses sponsored by the Communist Party of China. By coincidence, Li Dunbai met two underground CPC members lurking in Kunming. Through them, Li Dunbai learned a lot about the principles and policies of the Communist Party of China and the heroic deeds of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army.

Out of recognition and sympathy for the Communist Party of China, Li Dunbai began to use his US military status to provide local underground party members with help within his power, such as purchasing scarce goods and transferring personnel safely. Soon after, Li Dunbai met Song Qingling, Li Xiannian and others in Shanghai through the introduction of underground party members in Kunming. At this time, Li Dunbai began to plan to completely break away from the American army and devote himself wholeheartedly to the Chinese revolution.

Completely devoted to the Chinese revolution and became the first American Communist Party member

At the beginning of 1946, under the introduction of Soong Ching ling, Li Dun Bai cheng was a relief observer of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) office in China, whose task was to supervise the delivery of relief food to the disaster stricken areas, including the liberated areas. In April of the same year, he was responsible for escorting a batch of relief supplies to Xuanhua Store, more than 100 kilometers north of Wuhan, where Li Xiannian and Wang Zhen's troops were stationed in the Central Plains Liberated Area of the Communist Party of China. On this trip to the Liberated Areas, Li Dunbai met Zhou Enlai for the first time. At that time, Zhou Enlai happened to visit Xuanhuadian together with General Marshall's representative, General Bai Lude, the head of the Military Investigation Department of Beiping, and representatives of the National Government.

In Xuanhua Store, Li Dunbai and his American compatriot General Drude met happily. In the conversation between the two, Prude inadvertently revealed that the Kuomintang army intended to eliminate the "communist bandits" here. This made Li Dunbai very surprised, so he hurriedly conveyed the news to Li Xiannian. It was precisely because of the information provided by Li Dunbai that the Central Plains Bureau of the Communist Party of China became more aware of the intention of the Kuomintang to launch a civil war, and won more initiative in the struggle for the follow-up. At the same time, Li Dunbai's act of helping at such a critical moment left a good impression on the Communist Party.

In October 1946, with the help of Zhou Enlai, Li Dunbai, who had completely withdrawn from the US military, finally arrived in the Red Holy Land of Yan'an after several twists and turns. Commander Zhu De personally called Li Dunbai to join the Xinhua News Agency and was responsible for oral English broadcasting to the United States and some important translation work. In Yan'an, which is extremely short of foreign talents, Li Dunbai was quickly appreciated and put in high position, becoming one of the most important foreign language experts in the Communist Party's propaganda front. He was also often invited to the cave where Mao Zedong lived to introduce the situation of the United States to the main leaders of the Communist Party of China, so he had a good personal relationship with Mao Zedong and others.

At the end of that year, Li Dunbai formally applied to join the Communist Party of China under the introduction of Li Xiannian and Wang Zhen. With the direct approval of Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and Ren Bishi, the five secretaries of the Central Secretariat, Li Dunbai became the first American Communist Party member and the only foreign Communist Party member in Yan'an at that time.

He was jailed twice for wrongs, and was rehabilitated in his 60s

In February 1949, while Li Dunbai was doing his job wholeheartedly, the Soviet Union, thousands of miles away, "cracked" an international espionage case. Strong, an American writer who had been active in the liberated areas for a long time and had close contact with the main leaders of the Communist Party of China, was wrongly identified by the Soviet Union as an "American spy". Since Strong had a special relationship with Li Dunbai during his stay in Yan'an, and both of them were Americans, Li Dunbai was arrested as a spy at the suggestion of the Soviet Union.

Li Dunbai, who thought that he would find out the situation soon, had never thought that it would be more than six years.

In 1955, two years after Stalin's death, the Soviet Union publicly admitted that the so-called "Strong spy case" was a wrong case. Shortly afterwards, Li Dunbai, who had been imprisoned for six years, was also acquitted. Ling Yun, director of the Seventh Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, made a special trip to apologize to him on behalf of the CPC Central Committee.

After Li Dunbai regained his freedom, he was again employed as a political celebrity, ushering in his "golden decade" in China. He has been invited by Chairman Mao to Zhongnanhai for many times, and has also been entrusted with an important task to participate in the translation of the English version of Selected Works of Mao Zedong.

On the National Day in 1966, Li Dunbai boarded the Tiananmen Gate Tower to watch the mass march with Mao Zedong and others. The next day, the People's Daily published a group photo of Mao Zedong and Li Dunbai on the first page, and Li Dunbai's name immediately spread throughout China. As a famous person in the early days of the "Cultural Revolution", he was invited to give a speech by many rebel gatherings in schools, institutions and squares, except for the Broadcasting Bureau, at the most beautiful moment. Even when walking on the street, they will be surrounded by countless citizens and vie for signatures.

In that special era when various ideas collided, destiny once again played a joke with Li Dunbai. Because he was involved in the "counter revolutionary group of Wang Li, Guan Feng and Qi Benyu", in February 1968, Li Dunbai was branded as an "American spy" and arrested again. Compared with the first time in prison, this time is more cruel and painful.

In November 1977, one year after the end of the "Cultural Revolution", Li Dunbai, who was about to enter his 60s, was released from prison. In 1982, the Ministry of Public Security officially issued a document: "Comrade Li Dunbai has done a lot of useful work for the Chinese people since he came to China in 1945, and has made an important contribution to the revolutionary cause of the Chinese people", and defined his imprisonment in 1968 as "being wrongly detained for review", "a purely unjust case", and "should be completely rehabilitated".

Do not change your original intention and continue to do things beneficial to China

After being released from prison, Li Dunbai did not return to the Broadcasting Bureau, but served as a consultant in Xinhua News Agency and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. In March 1980, Li Dunbai, 59, returned to the United States with his wife and children after a long separation of 35 years.

In the United States, Li Dunbai first taught in universities, mainly teaching Mao Zedong philosophy. Then, as China's reform and opening up move forward, Li Dunbai established a consulting company on his own. With his "China hand" status, he specialized in assisting trade exchanges and cooperation between China and the United States, and continued to do things beneficial to China in a new way.

In September 1986, the well-known CBS senior reporter Wallace, who was led by Li Dunbai, had the honor to give an exclusive interview to Deng Xiaoping. It was this interview that made the world see Deng Xiaoping's wisdom and courage, and made China no longer mysterious and terrible in the eyes of Westerners.

In May 2012, a documentary film "The Revolutionary", which interviewed Li Dunbai and told about his experience in China, was released in the United States, attracting many Chinese viewers to watch it. At the end of the film, it seems that the main character feels a little regret for his original choice, which makes 91 year old Li Dunbai not very satisfied. Despite his old age, he personally explained and clarified:

I am very proud to participate in the Chinese revolution and have no regrets about my choice.

epilogue

Although it took him nearly 16 years to get wronged twice in China, Li Dunbai never regretted it. In his own words:

"That's because I was unfamiliar with my background, mistook me for an American spy, and carried out isolation and introspection on me. I thought that although my suspicion was unjustified, I should have withstood this test for the victory of the Chinese revolution, and I finally overcame the difficulties and got revenge... Looking back, I did not regret my days in China, even though I spent most of my time in prison. Because at that time, I was just like today Similarly, I have been driven by an unquenchable desire to support the Chinese people in their struggle for freedom, as well as the gifts and responsibilities that freedom brings. "

Although he has been through many vicissitudes of life, he has never changed his mind and still loves this land which has given him too much suffering.

On August 24, 2019, Li Dunbai, 98, died in Arizona, USA. A revolutionary and CPC member who pursues ideal all his life, dedicates himself to the revolution, and never regrets after suffering disasters, left peacefully with relief and satisfaction to accomplish his mission.

The story of Li Dunbai is not only a valuable witness of China's revolutionary history in the 20th century, but also a frank expression of confidence in China's revolutionary cause.

Li Dunbai - Introduction

Li Dunbai was born in South Carolina, the United States. In the mid-1940s, due to historical opportunities, Li Dunbai traveled across the ocean from the United States across the ocean to China, and has since forged an indissoluble bond with him.

During his 35 years of working and living in China, he has personally experienced many important historical events in contemporary China. He is the only foreign member of the Communist Party of China in the early period, and the only "foreigner" who has stepped into the high-level core circle in the history of the Communist Party of China. He has a close relationship with Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and other leaders of the Communist Party of China.

Li Dunbai has always been committed to helping the Communist Party of China open the window of foreign exchanges, but such a foreigner who loves and devotes himself to the cause led by the Communist Party of China has been jailed twice for 16 years. His legendary and ups and downs experience in China is undoubtedly the epitome of contemporary China.

Li Dunbai - Life

early years

Li Dunbai was born in Charleston, North Carolina, USA on August 14, 1921. His English name is Sidney Rittenberg. He had been "rebellious" since childhood. At the age of 17, he began to participate in trade unions and student movements to support the struggle for black liberation. At the age of 19, he became an American Communist. In 1942, Li Dunbai, who was also called Littenberg at that time, was enlisted. According to the relevant regulations of the United States at that time, he had to leave the Party membership after joining the army. After the Pacific War broke out, the US Army authorities sent him to learn Japanese, which made him very frightened. He thought that Japan would definitely lose the war and that the US military might be stationed there for a long time. China is an ally of the United States. After victory, China can return to China soon to build its own country. Therefore, he insisted on learning Chinese and got the consent. In 1943, he was transferred to Stanford University Army Language School to study Chinese. But he never dreamed that this "slip of the imagination" had changed his life, and he had been in China for 35 years.

China Tour

On September 16, 1945, a month after the end of the Second World War, Li Dunbai and his comrades took off from Assam in northeastern India in a US military transport plane, flew over the 800 km long "Hump Route", and arrived at Kunming, Yunnan Province, an important city in southwest China. He was assigned to the Compensation and Loss Department of the Military Legal Department of the US Army in Kunming as a Chinese Commissioner, who was specially responsible for investigating the local violations of the US military and the cases in which the local Chinese claimed compensation from the US military. Here, the boss of Kaiming Bookstore gave him an authentic Chinese name - Li Dunbai. This name was added with the word "Dun" in the middle of the name of Li Bai, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, representing integrity and homophonic with "Rittenberg".

Li Dunbai

Li Dunbai's job gave him many opportunities to contact people of different social strata in China. He gradually saw the corruption and dark rule of the Kuomintang authorities, and had a strong curiosity about the legendary honest and idealistic Communist Party of China.

In order to further understand China's social situation and learn Chinese well, Li Dunbai often buys Chinese newspapers and magazines from street newsboys. This American Communist without party membership likes to read the Xinhua Daily and the People magazine sponsored by the Communist Party of China. After a long time, the newsboy became familiar with him. Once, Li Dunbai went with the newsboy to meet two local underground Communist Party members. After several meetings, the underground party members learned about his experience and slowly explained to him the Communist Party's principles and policies and the heroic deeds of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army.

Since then, Li Dunbai often used his American identity to buy some popular goods for his underground party friends, and even used American jeeps to transfer underground members who were on the Kuomintang reactionary "black list" to outside the city, so that they were out of danger. Introduced by the underground party members in Kunming, he "joined hands" with the underground party members in Shanghai and got to know Song Qingling. Soon after, through Song Qingling's introduction, Li Dunbai became a relief observer of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) office in China, whose mission was to send relief food to the affected areas, including the liberated areas. He was very happy and left the American army.

Joining the Communist Party of China

Shortly after returning to Shanghai, Li Dunbai resigned from the work of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration and decided to return to China immediately, instead of supporting Chiang Kai shek in fighting the civil war for the American government. He went to say goodbye to Song Qingling, who advised him not to leave in a hurry, and suggested that he "at least said goodbye to Zhou Enlai."

Later, introduced by Zhou Enlai, Li Dunbai traveled through Peiping to Zhangjiakou, the largest city controlled by the Communist Party in North China. When he was in Zhangjiakou, Li Dunbai had applied to join the Communist Party of China. When he arrived in Yan'an, he made the same request again, and invited Li Xiannian and Wang Zhen, who had met in the Central Plains Liberated Area, to be his introducers. With the direct approval of Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and Ren Bishi, the five secretaries of the Central Secretariat, Li Dunbai became the only foreign communist party member at that time.

Soon thereafter, Strong went to Yan'an for an interview for the second time. Liao Chengzhi, the head of Xinhua News Agency, appointed Li Dunbai as the translator and visited Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and other comrades. Li Dunbai translated some documents and materials into English for Strong, and they wrote and wrote together. Li Dunbai's work has been affirmed by the leaders of the Central Committee.

Go to prison for wrongs

for the first time

While Li Dunbai was doing his job wholeheartedly, he was involved in the so-called "Strong International Espionage Case". Li Dunbai was involved in the case and was put into prison. For one year, he was locked in a prison room where there was no sunshine all the year round. After Stalin's death in 1955, Strong was rehabilitated and released.

The second time

In September 1967, China Radio International and the Friendship Hotel where many foreigners stayed appeared a big character newspaper targeting Li Dunbai, which classified him as a member of the "May 16th Movement". In February 1968, Li Dunbai was arrested. On November 19, 1977, after nine years, eight months and one day of imprisonment, Li Dunbai was released from prison and became the last person to be released among the foreign experts "rebels".

Pacification

After being released from prison, Li Dunbai did not return to the Broadcasting Bureau, but served as a consultant in Xinhua News Agency and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. After Wang Yulin's efforts in many ways, in 1982, Li Dunbai got a thorough conclusion of rehabilitation. The rehabilitation concluded that "Comrade Li Dunbai has done a lot of useful work for the Chinese people since he came to China in 1945, and has made an important contribution to the revolutionary cause of the Chinese people". He also defined his imprisonment in 1968 as "being wrongly detained for review", "a purely unjust case", and "should be thoroughly pacified".

old age

Li Dunbai's extraordinary experience in China is a valuable asset to him. In his later years, Li Dunbai and his wife registered a company in the United States called "Li Dunbai Co., Ltd.", which specializes in consulting American companies doing business in China. In his own words, it is "doing something practical and beneficial to China in a new way".

Li Dunbai - Family

Li Dunbai successively married two Chinese girls. In Yan'an, he married Wei Lin, an English announcer of Zhangjiakou Xinhua Radio Station and Shanbei Xinhua Radio Station. Wei Lin, formerly Jiang Linlin, graduated from the Department of Foreign Languages of Chongqing Central University and joined the Communist Party of China in 1956. Li Dunbai and Wei Lin are truly "love between teachers and students". Li Dunbai divorced his first Chinese wife Wei Lin during his first imprisonment.

Later, Li Dunbai worked as a foreign expert at the Central People's Radio, met Wang Yulin, and got married in 1956. Li Dunbai and his wife, Wang Yulin, live in Washington State. They have four children.

Li Dunbai - Works

Foreign People Behind the Red Screen - Memoirs of Li Dunbai

Li Dunbai - Comments

Mao Zedong called him a "soldier of international communism", the New York Times affectionately called him a "Chinese son-in-law", and the Gang of Four slandered him as an "American spy".