Geng Biao
Geng Biao
Geng Biao (August 26, 1909 - June 23, 2000), male, from Liling, Hunan Province. He joined the Communist Youth League of China in 1925 and transferred to the Communist Party of China in 1928.
He once served as the former Vice Premier of the State Council, member and Secretary General of the Standing Committee of the Central Military Commission, State Councilor and Minister of national defense, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress, and member of the Political Bureau of the Eleventh Central Committee. He was elected as a member of the Standing Committee of the Advisory Committee at the 12th and 13th National Congresses.
On June 23, 2000, Geng Biao died in Beijing at the age of 91.
Life of the characters
On August 26, 1909, comrade Geng Biao was born into a poor peasant family in yanjiachong, North Township, Liling County, Hunan Province. At the age of 7, he fled with his parents to Shuikou mountain, Changning County, southern Hunan Province. When he was 13 years old, he worked as a child laborer in a lead-zinc mine. As a child, he was cruelly exploited and oppressed by capitalists. Under the education and guidance of Shuikoushan party organization, he began to understand the truth of Marxism, determined to save the country and the people, and strive for the cause of communism all his life. He took an active part in the workers' strike and joined the Communist Youth League of China in May 1925.
In 1926, Hunan's revolutionary situation reached its climax. In accordance with the party's instructions, comrade Geng Biao, together with other comrades, secretly transported a batch of guns from the enemy's arsenal, armed the red guards of workers in Shuikou mountain, and launched a revolutionary armed struggle. Soon after, he was sent back to Liling by the Communist Party of China to form and lead the peasant red guards to take part in the Liling uprising and 100000 peasant troops to attack Changsha. After serious losses to the party organization and revolutionary forces, he returned to Liuyang in April 1928, found the party organization, and served as the leader of the Liuyang and Liling guerrillas, actively carrying out guerrilla struggle and cooperating with the main Red Army. In August 1928, he became a member of the Communist Party of China.
In September 1930, following the party's instructions, Geng Biao led the guerrillas to join the Red Army. He successively served as the staff officer of the 9th division of the 3rd army of the 1st Red Army, the leader of the division cadre training team, and the chief of the combat education section. In the spring of 1933, he was the head of the 4th regiment of the 2nd division of the 1st Red Army. He has successively participated in the Central Soviet Area's major battles against "encirclement and suppression" and Zhangzhou campaign. He was resourceful, courageous and good at fighting. He led his troops in many tough and vicious battles. During the long march of the Red Army, he led his troops as the vanguard of the second division, conquering Gupi, fighting Jiufeng Mountain, crossing Xiaoshui river at night, attacking Daozhou City, fighting bloody battles along the Xiangjiang River, cutting through the pass and breaking through the strong enemy repeatedly, effectively protecting the central column and the main Red Army from breaking through the enemy's four blockades. After the Red Army entered Guizhou, he led his troops to cross the Wujiang River at the Jiangjie ferry, winning the first natural danger Loushan Pass, opening up a way for the central column and large troops to advance. Comrade Mao Zedong wrote to praise Comrade Geng Biao on this matter.
After the Zunyi Meeting in January 1935, Geng Biao was appointed chief of staff of the 1st division of the 1st Red Army Corps. He led his troops to participate in important battles such as crossing Chishui, conquering Zunyi again, crossing Wujiang in the south, and crossing Jinsha River skillfully from Yunnan. He contributed to the central red army's getting rid of the encirclement and interception of Kuomintang troops and winning the initiative of strategic transfer. After that, he led his troops to cross the Dadu River through the Yi nationality area, and cooperated with his brother troops to seize Luding Bridge, so that the Central Red Army could get out of danger again. After the red army arrived in Northern Shaanxi during the Long March, he led his troops to take part in the Zhiluo town campaign and the eastern expedition campaign. He was seriously injured in the neck when he attacked Ganquan and still insisted on commanding the battle. He joined the Anti Japanese Red Army University in June 1936 and served as chief of staff of the Fourth Army of the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army in December of the same year. He conscientiously carried out the party's policies, worked hard to eliminate the influence of Zhang Guotao's wrong line, and did a lot of work to strengthen the internal unity of the Red Army.
During the Anti Japanese War, Geng Biao served as chief of staff, deputy chief of brigade 385 and deputy political commissar of the 129th division of the Eighth Route Army. He led his troops to garrison Longdong and defend the Shaanxi Gansu Ningxia border region. He entered the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in Yan'an in July 1941. In September 1944, he served as deputy chief of staff and head of Liaison Department of Shanxi Chahar Hebei military region. In August 1945, he led the troops to attack the Japanese puppet army in Zhangjiakou, and recovered the important town outside the great wall which had been occupied by the Japanese for many years. After the victory of the Anti Japanese War, he served as deputy chief of staff of the CPC delegation and director of the Communications Department of the executive department of the Beiping military mediation office from January to August 1946. Under the leadership of Comrade Ye Jianying, he fought resolutely against the Kuomintang's plot to undermine peace and provoke civil war.
During the war of liberation, comrade Geng Biao returned to the Shanxi Chahar Hebei military area as chief of staff of the Shanxi Chahar Hebei field army. He participated in and organized the Zhengtai campaign, Qingcang campaign and Baobei campaign. In the stage of strategic attack, he took part in the famous Qingfengdian campaign and Shijiazhuang campaign. In May 1948, he served as deputy commander and chief of staff of the 2nd corps of the North China Military Region (later renamed as the 19th corps of the Chinese people's Liberation Army, namely the famous Yang Luogeng Corps). He led his troops to participate in the Pingjin campaign, Taiyuan campaign and Ningxia campaign and made important contributions to the victory of the national liberation war.
At the beginning of 1950, the Party Central Committee decided to transfer Comrade Geng Biao to work in the Ministry of foreign affairs, starting his diplomatic career of more than 20 years. Up to 1971, he successively served as Chinese ambassador to the kingdom of Sweden, minister to Denmark and Finland, Ambassador to Pakistan, member of the Party committee and vice minister of the Ministry of foreign affairs, and ambassador to Myanmar and Albania. Under the direct leadership of Premier Zhou Enlai and vice premier Chen Yi, he conscientiously implemented the foreign policy of the Central Committee, made great contributions to the creation and development of the diplomatic cause of new China, and established the lofty style of our country's older generation of diplomats. He has a high level of theory and policy, attaches great importance to situation research, strives to grasp the actual situation, and timely puts forward policy suggestions according to the development and changes of the situation, so as to provide a reliable basis for the central government's foreign policy-making. As China's first ambassador to the western countries, he actively carried out foreign exchanges, promoted friendly relations between China and the host countries, made great efforts to publicize China's domestic and foreign policies and construction achievements, and expanded the influence of new China. He has made active contacts with the economic and trade departments and people in the economic and trade circles of Sweden, Denmark and Finland, creating an opportunity for China to carry out trade and economic cooperation with western countries. During his term as ambassador to Pakistan and Myanmar, comrade Geng Biao actively promoted friendly exchanges, economic, trade and cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and Pakistan, the government and people of China and Myanmar, and made unremitting efforts for the development of good neighborly and friendly relations between China, Pakistan and Myanmar. The Pakistani government once awarded a special medal to Comrade Geng Biao in recognition of his contribution to enhancing the friendship between China and Pakistan. Leaders of the Myanmar government have also repeatedly praised Comrade Geng Biao for his contribution to the development of friendly and cooperative relations between China and Myanmar.
In the diplomatic struggle, comrade Geng Biao,
He is good at uniting the firmness of principle with the flexibility of strategy, putting forward his own unique and creative views in view of the constantly changing situation, showing a high level of policy and art of struggle, and accumulating rich experience in diplomatic work. During his tenure as Vice Foreign Minister, he assisted Vice Premier and Foreign Minister Chen Yi in handling a large number of foreign-related cases and participated in or presided over the drafting of a number of important diplomatic documents. During his term as ambassador to Albania, he put forward suggestions to the Central Committee on improving diplomacy and foreign aid work. After reading the report, Chairman Mao said, "Geng Biao dares to tell the truth and reflect the real situation. He is a good ambassador." He set an example, worked selflessly, was diligent in research, and was good at thinking, which was highly praised by the cadres and staff of the Ministry of foreign affairs. During his work in the embassy, he closely combined the rich experience of the military's ideological and political work with the characteristics of the Embassy's work, carried out the ideological and political work in a targeted way, and constantly improved the ideological and political quality of diplomatic cadres. He cared about his subordinates, attached great importance to the cultivation of young cadres, and often warned them to learn foreign affairs and technology, so as to exercise themselves in an all-round way.
During the "Cultural Revolution", comrade Geng Biao fought tit for tat with Lin Biao and Jiang Qing. In the face of Lin Biao and the gang of four's serious interference and damage to the diplomatic line of the Central Committee, he insisted on principles, withstood pressure, unswervingly implemented the foreign policy formulated by the Central Committee, and suffered cruel persecution. He is still unyielding in adversity, showing the selfless and fearless spirit of proletarian revolutionaries.
Since January 1971, Geng Biao has been Minister of the Foreign Liaison Department of the CPC Central Committee. He withstood the pressure, resolutely implemented the party's cadre policy, vindicated unjust, false and wrong cases, liberated a large number of cadres, transferred them back to the ministry from the "May 7th cadre school" to resume work, and enriched them in leading bodies at all levels. In accordance with Premier Zhou Enlai's instructions, he resolutely corrected the "left" wrong practice of the gang of four in the work of foreign exchanges, and actively restored and expanded our party's work of foreign exchanges. He proposed to the Central Committee the restoration of relations with the Communist League of Yugoslavia and other communist parties, and the establishment of contacts and exchanges with socialist parties and national democratic parties in various countries. He attached great importance to the study of international issues, emphasized the combination of research work with the party's external work, and put forward some important principles for the development of inter party relations on the basis of summing up historical experience.
On October 6, 1976, the Party Central Committee smashed the anti party clique of the gang of four. At the order of the Party Central Committee that night, Geng Biao went to the Central Broadcasting Bureau and mastered the radio and television stations that had been controlled by the gang of four for a long time. When he was in charge of the Central Propaganda Department, he did a lot of work to eliminate the destruction and influence of the gang of four in the propaganda front. He supported the discussion on the standard of truth. He called for a large number of veteran comrades such as Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yun to come back to work as soon as possible.
In March 1978, Geng Biao was appointed Vice Premier of the State Council, responsible for handling foreign affairs, and in charge of the work of the General Administration of civil aviation, the General Administration of tourism and the military industry. In January 1979, he served as standing member and Secretary General of the Central Military Commission, assisting the chairman and vice chairman of the Commission in handling the daily affairs of the Commission
Chinese PinYin : Geng Biao
Geng Biao
