Liao Chengzhi
Encyclopedia
Liao Chengzhi was a Chinese politician. He joined the Communist Party of China
in 1928, and rose to the position of director of the Xinhua News Agency
; after 1949, he worked in various positions related to foreign affairs, most prominently president of the Beijing Foreign Languages Institute, president of the Sino-Japanese Friendship Society, and Minister of the Office of Overseas Chinese Affairs.
in 1908 to father Liao Zhongkai
and mother He Xiangning. His father, a native of Huiyang
in Huizhou
, Guangdong
, had wanted to study abroad ever since he was a student at Hong Kong
's Queens' College; he left his wife behind in Hong Kong to pursue his studies in Tokyo in January 1903, but she joined him there just three months later. She pursued education there as well, taking time off after young Liao was born, but returning to school just six months later. Liao was overweight as a child; even his own parents referred to him as "fatty" . His parents became members of the Kuomintang
very early on; Sun Yat-sen
was a frequent visitor to their household, sparking the young Liao's interest in politics. He and his sister Liao Mengxing also studied wushu
with one of Sun's bodyguards. His family moved frequently; the young Liao attended school in Tokyo
, Shanghai
, and Guangzhou
.
Liao returned to his parents' home of Guangdong in 1923, where he entered the middle school attached to Lingnan University
. He first met Zhou Enlai
, who was then an instructor at the Whampoa Military Academy
in Guangzhou
, the following year. Under Zhou's influence, Liao became further interested in politics, and joined the Kuomintang
. In June 1925, he was one of the leaders of a protest march in Guangzhou which was fired upon by British and French troops, in what became known as the Shaji Incident; Liao himself had his hat shot off, and barely escaped with his life. His father was assassinated two months later by a member of a rival faction in the Kuomintang. In 1927, fearing for her family's lives, his mother took Liao and his siblings back into exile in Tokyo. The following year, Xu not only entered Waseda University
, but also joined the Tokyo branch of the Chinese Communist Party, which provoked the university to expel him. His political activities also attracted unfavourable attention from the Japanese government, which deported him in the summer of that year; he then proceeded to Shanghai.
In November 1928, Liao went to Berlin
, Germany
, where he both studied and continued his political activities. His mother, who had returned to China from Japan, soon left the country again in disgust with Chiang Kai-shek
's government; she first went to Paris
where she made a living selling paintings before joining her son in Berlin. His mother would return to Shanghai with Soong Ching-ling
in September 1931, just after the Mukden Incident
, to join the anti-Japanese resistance movement. Around the same time, Liao was arrested by German police and deported again; he followed his mother to Shanghai in 1932. He then became secretary of the Communist Party Group of the National Seamen's Union. His political activities again brought him trouble, leading to his arrest in March 1933; however, he was released due to the efforts of Soong Ching-ling. Back in Shanghai, Liao struck up a relationship with Jing Puchun (经普椿); her father Jing Hengyi (经亨颐), a painter, was Liao's mother's friend, former classmate in Japan, and neighbour. Jing Puchun had come from Zhejiang
to Shanghai with her elder brother to visit him. She was just 16 at the time. Her elder brother objected strenuously to their relationship, due to Liao's CPC membership; he feared his sister would get mixed up in political conflicts. In mid-July, her elder brother took her back to Zhejiang. The two kept in touch by letters; in August 1933, when Liao received CPC orders sending him to the Sichuan
–Shaanxi
area, he asked Jing in a letter to "wait for me for two years, if you truly love me".
-Shaanxi
area carrying Kuomintang codes which would allow the Communists to decrypt their telegraph messages. After his arrival there, he became Secretary of the Politburo of the Chinese Red Army's Fourth Front Army. However, he offended his superior Zhang Guotao
by pointing out some of his ideological errors; Zhang Guotao criticised Liao as a "member of a Kuomintang family" and had him arrested. He spent two more years in a CPC prison, and thus ended the Long March
as a criminal, but was restored to good standing in the Party in late 1936 while in northern Shaanxi by Mao Zedong
and his old friend Zhou Enlai. He then began his work with the Red China News Agency, Xinhua
's forerunner, where he put his international experience to good use, translating news into English
, French
, German
, and Japanese
.
In December 1937, as the Second Sino-Japanese War
intensified, he was sent to Hong Kong
, where he ran the Eighth Route Army
's office. Among other matters, he was responsible for arms purchases for the CPC's Southern Bureau. His work there formed the foundation of what would become the CPC's united front
strategy in the territory, aimed at using Hong Kong's economic resources and connections to overseas Chinese
communities to fund CPC aims; indeed, while in Hong Kong, Liao cultivated relations and alliances with the territory's "big capitalists". His mother arranged for Jing Puchun to be sent there as well, as a surprise for her son; the two had a joyous reunion at the docks as Liao stepped off his ship, and married soon after, on 11 January 1938. Liao left Hong Kong in January 1941, but after the Imperial Japanese Army
invaded
and occupied
the city, he was chosen for his fluency in Japanese along with Lian Guan to sneak back in and establish contact with fellow revolutionaries who had been trapped there; by May, he had helped over 500 people escape from Hong Kong, including his mother, Soong Ching-ling
, Mao Dun
, Xia Yan
, Liang Shuming
, Cai Chusheng
, Liu Yazi (柳亚子), Hu Feng
, Hu Sheng (胡绳), and Zou Taofen (邹韬奋).
However, Liao's work was interrupted on 30 May 1942, when he was arrested in Guangdong
's Lechang
, Shaoguan
area. His captors transported him to southern Jiangxi
and held in the Majiazhou Prison Camp in Taihe. His arrest was the result of a long investigation by the KMT, and would prove the undoing of the CPC's organisation in southern China; in the following months, the KMT arrested hundreds of other CPC members. His mother, Dong Biwu
, and Zhou Enlai
all wrote letters to KMT authorities pleading for Liao's life, in which they stressed the need for unity against the Japanese and the common revolutionary origin of the KMT and the CPC, reflected in Liao's father's relationship with Sun Yat-sen; in the end, Chiang Kai-shek
was moved to spare Liao's life. Chiang's son Chiang Ching-kuo
was assigned to supervise Liao's captivity. His personal connections notwithstanding, Liao was subject to poor conditions and various tortures during his imprisonment, and developed lung disease as a result. However, such was the respect of his fellow revolutionaries for him that even while in prison, he was elected as an alternate member of the CPC's Politburo by the representatives of the 7th National Congress in Yan'an
in April 1945.
In January 1946, Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram to the prison camp in Ganzhou
where the young Liao was being held, directing that he be flown to the KMT's seat of government, then still located in Chongqing
. Liao's treatment improved markedly upon his arrival; he was given a new suit of clothes and better food to eat. Chiang tried to pressure Liao into renouncing his affiliation with the CPC, but Liao refused. Soon after, on 22 January, in accordance with the terms of the Double Tenth Agreement
between the KMT and the CPC, Liao was released and returned to Yan'an
, where his wife was waiting for him. Upon his return, he was named head of the Xinhua News Agency
. However, again his reunion with his wife was brief; the CPC soon dispatched Liao to the Taihang Mountains
on Xinhua-related work.
and the newly-revived Overseas Chinese Affairs Office
, of whose predecessor he had been the head up until 1970. He also continued to play an important role in Sino-Japanese relations
, accompanying Deng Xiaoping
on his visit to Japan, meeting with Prime Minister
Takeo Fukuda
. In March 1980, with his health worsening, Liao flew to the United States
to undergo coronary artery bypass surgery
at the Stanford University
's Medical Center
. He remained overweight even in his twilight years; after his surgery, his wife tried to manage his diet more closely, but he continued to eat fatty foods and smoke the occasional cigarette. In 1982, he received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater of Waseda. On 25 July of the same year, the People's Daily
published Liao's open letter to his old jailer Chiang Ching-kuo
, who by then had risen to the position of President of the Republic of China
. Addressing Chiang as "my brother", he again touched upon the theme of the common origin of the two parties, and urged Chiang to take proactive steps towards the reunification of the mainland and Taiwan
.
Liao died of a heart attack
at 5:22 AM on 10 June 1983 in Beijing. His heart attack came at an untimely juncture for China, as he was widely anticipated to be the next candidate for the position of Vice President of the People's Republic of China
.
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
in 1928, and rose to the position of director of the Xinhua News Agency
Xinhua News Agency
The Xinhua News Agency is the official press agency of the government of the People's Republic of China and the biggest center for collecting information and press conferences in the PRC. It is the largest news agency in the PRC, ahead of the China News Service...
; after 1949, he worked in various positions related to foreign affairs, most prominently president of the Beijing Foreign Languages Institute, president of the Sino-Japanese Friendship Society, and Minister of the Office of Overseas Chinese Affairs.
Early life
Liao was born in the Ookubo neighbourhood of TokyoTokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
in 1908 to father Liao Zhongkai
Liao Zhongkai
Liao Zhongkai , Kuomintang leader and financier. Liao Zhongkai was the principal architect of the first Kuomintang-Chinese Communist Party United Front in the 1920s....
and mother He Xiangning. His father, a native of Huiyang
Huiyang District
Huiyang District is a district of Guangdong Province, China. It is under the administration of Huizhou city....
in Huizhou
Huizhou
Huizhou , historically known as Waichow, is a city located in central Guangdong province of the People's Republic of China. Part of the Pearl River Delta, Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shaoguan to the north, Heyuan to the northeast, Shanwei to the east, Shenzhen...
, Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
, had wanted to study abroad ever since he was a student at Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
's Queens' College; he left his wife behind in Hong Kong to pursue his studies in Tokyo in January 1903, but she joined him there just three months later. She pursued education there as well, taking time off after young Liao was born, but returning to school just six months later. Liao was overweight as a child; even his own parents referred to him as "fatty" . His parents became members of the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
very early on; Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen was a Chinese doctor, revolutionary and political leader. As the foremost pioneer of Nationalist China, Sun is frequently referred to as the "Father of the Nation" , a view agreed upon by both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China...
was a frequent visitor to their household, sparking the young Liao's interest in politics. He and his sister Liao Mengxing also studied wushu
Chinese martial arts
Chinese martial arts, also referred to by the Mandarin Chinese term wushu and popularly as kung fu , are a number of fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits, identified as "families" , "sects" or...
with one of Sun's bodyguards. His family moved frequently; the young Liao attended school in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, and Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
.
Liao returned to his parents' home of Guangdong in 1923, where he entered the middle school attached to Lingnan University
Lingnan University
Lingnan University can refer to two separate establishments:*Lingnan University - a university in Hong Kong*Lingnan University - a university in Guangzhou, Guangdong province in China...
. He first met Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976...
, who was then an instructor at the Whampoa Military Academy
Whampoa Military Academy
The Nationalist Party of China Army Officer Academy , commonly known as the Whampoa Military Academy , was a military academy in the Republic of China that produced many prestigious commanders who fought in many of China's conflicts in the 20th century, notably the Northern Expedition, the Second...
in Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
, the following year. Under Zhou's influence, Liao became further interested in politics, and joined the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
. In June 1925, he was one of the leaders of a protest march in Guangzhou which was fired upon by British and French troops, in what became known as the Shaji Incident; Liao himself had his hat shot off, and barely escaped with his life. His father was assassinated two months later by a member of a rival faction in the Kuomintang. In 1927, fearing for her family's lives, his mother took Liao and his siblings back into exile in Tokyo. The following year, Xu not only entered Waseda University
Waseda University
, abbreviated as , is one of the most prestigious private universities in Japan and Asia. Its main campuses are located in the northern part of Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as Tokyo Senmon Gakko, the institution was renamed "Waseda University" in 1902. It is known for its liberal climate...
, but also joined the Tokyo branch of the Chinese Communist Party, which provoked the university to expel him. His political activities also attracted unfavourable attention from the Japanese government, which deported him in the summer of that year; he then proceeded to Shanghai.
In November 1928, Liao went to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, where he both studied and continued his political activities. His mother, who had returned to China from Japan, soon left the country again in disgust with Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
's government; she first went to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
where she made a living selling paintings before joining her son in Berlin. His mother would return to Shanghai with Soong Ching-ling
Soong Ching-ling
Soong Ching-ling , also known as Madame Sun Yat-sen, was one of the three Soong sisters—who, along with their husbands, were amongst China's most significant political figures of the early 20th century. She was the Vice Chairman of the People's Republic of China...
in September 1931, just after the Mukden Incident
Mukden Incident
The Mukden Incident, also known as the Manchurian Incident, was a staged event that was engineered by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for invading the northern part of China known as Manchuria in 1931....
, to join the anti-Japanese resistance movement. Around the same time, Liao was arrested by German police and deported again; he followed his mother to Shanghai in 1932. He then became secretary of the Communist Party Group of the National Seamen's Union. His political activities again brought him trouble, leading to his arrest in March 1933; however, he was released due to the efforts of Soong Ching-ling. Back in Shanghai, Liao struck up a relationship with Jing Puchun (经普椿); her father Jing Hengyi (经亨颐), a painter, was Liao's mother's friend, former classmate in Japan, and neighbour. Jing Puchun had come from Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
to Shanghai with her elder brother to visit him. She was just 16 at the time. Her elder brother objected strenuously to their relationship, due to Liao's CPC membership; he feared his sister would get mixed up in political conflicts. In mid-July, her elder brother took her back to Zhejiang. The two kept in touch by letters; in August 1933, when Liao received CPC orders sending him to the Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
–Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
area, he asked Jing in a letter to "wait for me for two years, if you truly love me".
Fighting the Nationalists and Japan
In August 1933, Liao bid farewell to his mother and, under the orders of the Party, proceeded to the SichuanSichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
-Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
area carrying Kuomintang codes which would allow the Communists to decrypt their telegraph messages. After his arrival there, he became Secretary of the Politburo of the Chinese Red Army's Fourth Front Army. However, he offended his superior Zhang Guotao
Zhang Guotao
Zhang Guotao was a founding member and important leader of the Chinese Communist Party and bitter rival to Mao Zedong. During the 1920s he studied in the Soviet Union and became a key contact with the Comintern and organized the CCP labor movement in the United Front with the Guomindang...
by pointing out some of his ideological errors; Zhang Guotao criticised Liao as a "member of a Kuomintang family" and had him arrested. He spent two more years in a CPC prison, and thus ended the Long March
Long March
The Long March was a massive military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Communist Party of China, the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army. There was not one Long March, but a series of marches, as various Communist armies in the south...
as a criminal, but was restored to good standing in the Party in late 1936 while in northern Shaanxi by Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
and his old friend Zhou Enlai. He then began his work with the Red China News Agency, Xinhua
Xinhua News Agency
The Xinhua News Agency is the official press agency of the government of the People's Republic of China and the biggest center for collecting information and press conferences in the PRC. It is the largest news agency in the PRC, ahead of the China News Service...
's forerunner, where he put his international experience to good use, translating news into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, and Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
.
In December 1937, as the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
intensified, he was sent to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, where he ran the Eighth Route Army
Eighth Route Army
The Eighth Route Army was the larger of the two major Chinese communist forces that formed a unit of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China which fought the Japanese from 1937 to 1945. In contrast to most of the National Revolutionary Army, it was controlled by the Communist...
's office. Among other matters, he was responsible for arms purchases for the CPC's Southern Bureau. His work there formed the foundation of what would become the CPC's united front
PRC United Front strategy
The PRC United Front strategy is a series of coordinated efforts directed by the Communist Chinese Government centralized in Beijing to attain greater control over the city of Hong Kong. To accomplish this aim, a number of different strategies have been used since the 1980s...
strategy in the territory, aimed at using Hong Kong's economic resources and connections to overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China Area . People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the Greater China Area may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese....
communities to fund CPC aims; indeed, while in Hong Kong, Liao cultivated relations and alliances with the territory's "big capitalists". His mother arranged for Jing Puchun to be sent there as well, as a surprise for her son; the two had a joyous reunion at the docks as Liao stepped off his ship, and married soon after, on 11 January 1938. Liao left Hong Kong in January 1941, but after the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
invaded
Battle of Hong Kong
The Battle of Hong Kong took place during the Pacific campaign of World War II. It began on 8 December 1941 and ended on 25 December 1941 with Hong Kong, then a Crown colony, surrendering to the Empire of Japan.-Background:...
and occupied
Japanese occupation of Hong Kong
The Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began after the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Mark Young, surrendered the territory of Hong Kong to Japan on 25 December 1941 after 18 days of fierce fighting by British and Canadian defenders against overwhelming Japanese Imperial forces. The occupation lasted...
the city, he was chosen for his fluency in Japanese along with Lian Guan to sneak back in and establish contact with fellow revolutionaries who had been trapped there; by May, he had helped over 500 people escape from Hong Kong, including his mother, Soong Ching-ling
Soong Ching-ling
Soong Ching-ling , also known as Madame Sun Yat-sen, was one of the three Soong sisters—who, along with their husbands, were amongst China's most significant political figures of the early 20th century. She was the Vice Chairman of the People's Republic of China...
, Mao Dun
Mao Dun
Mao Dun was the pen name of Shen Dehong , a 20th century Chinese novelist, cultural critic, and journalist. He was also the Minister of Culture of China from 1949 to 1965. He is currently renowned as one of the best realist novelists in the history of modern China...
, Xia Yan
Xia Yan
Xia Yan was a Chinese playwright and screenwriter.Xia entered Zhejiang Industrial School in 1915 ....
, Liang Shuming
Liang Shuming
Liang Shuming , October 18, 1893—June 23, 1988), born Liang Huanding , courtesy name Shouming , was a philosopher, teacher, and leader in the Rural Reconstruction Movement in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican eras of Chinese history.Liang was of Guilin, Guangxi origin, but born in Beijing...
, Cai Chusheng
Cai Chusheng
Resting Place= Babaoshan Revoluntionary CemeteryCai Chusheng was a Chinese film director of the pre-Communist era. Known best for his progressive output in the 1930s, Cai Chusheng later became a victim to the persecutions of the Cultural Revolution.- Early career :Born in Shanghai to Cantonese...
, Liu Yazi (柳亚子), Hu Feng
Hu Feng
Hu Feng was a Chinese writer and literary and art theorist. He comes from Qichun in the province of Hubei. In 1929 he went to study in Japan. In 1933, he was expelled from Japan and he joined the League of the Left-Wing Writers in China in Shanghai. He was friends with Lu Xun...
, Hu Sheng (胡绳), and Zou Taofen (邹韬奋).
However, Liao's work was interrupted on 30 May 1942, when he was arrested in Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
's Lechang
Lechang
Lechang is a city in the northern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, bordering Hunan province to the north. It is administratively a county-level city of Shaoguan City.-Administrative division:* Lecheng Jiedao...
, Shaoguan
Shaoguan
Shaoguan , historically known as Shaokwan and Shao-chow, is a prefecture-level city in the north of Southern China's Guangdong province...
area. His captors transported him to southern Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...
and held in the Majiazhou Prison Camp in Taihe. His arrest was the result of a long investigation by the KMT, and would prove the undoing of the CPC's organisation in southern China; in the following months, the KMT arrested hundreds of other CPC members. His mother, Dong Biwu
Dong Biwu
Dong Biwu was a Chinese communist political leader during the regime of Mao Zedong.-Biography:Dong Biwu was born in Huanggang, Hubei. He was the President of China from 1948 to 1949 and Acting President from 1968 until 17 January 1975 when Zhu De became the succeeding Chairman of the Standing...
, and Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976...
all wrote letters to KMT authorities pleading for Liao's life, in which they stressed the need for unity against the Japanese and the common revolutionary origin of the KMT and the CPC, reflected in Liao's father's relationship with Sun Yat-sen; in the end, Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
was moved to spare Liao's life. Chiang's son Chiang Ching-kuo
Chiang Ching-kuo
Chiang Ching-kuo , Kuomintang politician and leader, was the son of President Chiang Kai-shek and held numerous posts in the government of the Republic of China...
was assigned to supervise Liao's captivity. His personal connections notwithstanding, Liao was subject to poor conditions and various tortures during his imprisonment, and developed lung disease as a result. However, such was the respect of his fellow revolutionaries for him that even while in prison, he was elected as an alternate member of the CPC's Politburo by the representatives of the 7th National Congress in Yan'an
Yan'an
Yan'an , is a prefecture-level city in the Shanbei region of Shaanxi province in China, administering several counties, including Zhidan County , which served as the Chinese communist capital before the city of Yan'an proper took that role....
in April 1945.
In January 1946, Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram to the prison camp in Ganzhou
Ganzhou
Ganzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China. Its administrative seat is at Zhanggong .-History:...
where the young Liao was being held, directing that he be flown to the KMT's seat of government, then still located in Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
. Liao's treatment improved markedly upon his arrival; he was given a new suit of clothes and better food to eat. Chiang tried to pressure Liao into renouncing his affiliation with the CPC, but Liao refused. Soon after, on 22 January, in accordance with the terms of the Double Tenth Agreement
Double Tenth Agreement
The Double Tenth Agreement, formally known as the Summary of Conversations Between the Representatives of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China, was an agreement between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China, concluded on 10 October 1945 after 43 days of negotiations...
between the KMT and the CPC, Liao was released and returned to Yan'an
Yan'an
Yan'an , is a prefecture-level city in the Shanbei region of Shaanxi province in China, administering several counties, including Zhidan County , which served as the Chinese communist capital before the city of Yan'an proper took that role....
, where his wife was waiting for him. Upon his return, he was named head of the Xinhua News Agency
Xinhua News Agency
The Xinhua News Agency is the official press agency of the government of the People's Republic of China and the biggest center for collecting information and press conferences in the PRC. It is the largest news agency in the PRC, ahead of the China News Service...
. However, again his reunion with his wife was brief; the CPC soon dispatched Liao to the Taihang Mountains
Taihang Mountains
The Taihang Mountains are a Chinese mountain range running down the eastern edge of the Loess Plateau in Henan, Shanxi and Hebei provinces. The range extends over 400 km from north to south and has an average elevation of 1,500 to 2,000 meters. The principal peak is Xiao Wutaishan...
on Xinhua-related work.
After 1949
Even as he turned 70, Liao remained active and busy in politics, in 1978 heading up the newly-established Hong Kong and Macao Affairs OfficeHong Kong and Macao Affairs Office
Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office is an administrative agency of the State Council of the People's Republic of China responsible for promoting cooperation and coordination of political, economic and cultural ties between mainland China and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao...
and the newly-revived Overseas Chinese Affairs Office
Overseas Chinese Affairs Office
The Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China is the administrative office responsible for liaising with overseas Chinese residing abroad or returning to China...
, of whose predecessor he had been the head up until 1970. He also continued to play an important role in Sino-Japanese relations
Sino-Japanese relations
China and Japan are geographically separated only by a relatively narrow stretch of ocean. China has strongly influenced Japan with its writing system, architecture, culture, religion, philosophy, and law...
, accompanying Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping was a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy...
on his visit to Japan, meeting with Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Japan
The is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...
Takeo Fukuda
Takeo Fukuda
was a Japanese politician and the 42d Prime Minister of Japan from December 24, 1976 to December 7, 1978.He was born in Gunma Prefecture and attended Tokyo Imperial University. Before and during World War II, he served as a bureaucrat in the Finance Ministry and as Chief Cabinet Secretary...
. In March 1980, with his health worsening, Liao flew to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to undergo coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...
at the Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
's Medical Center
Stanford University Medical Center
Stanford University Medical Center represents the Stanford Hospital and the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and is located at 300 Pasteur Drive in Stanford, California. Stanford Hospital provides both general acute care services and tertiary medical care for patients locally, nationally and...
. He remained overweight even in his twilight years; after his surgery, his wife tried to manage his diet more closely, but he continued to eat fatty foods and smoke the occasional cigarette. In 1982, he received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater of Waseda. On 25 July of the same year, the People's Daily
People's Daily
The People's Daily is a daily newspaper in the People's Republic of China. The paper is an organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China , published worldwide with a circulation of 3 to 4 million. In addition to its main Chinese-language edition, it has editions in English,...
published Liao's open letter to his old jailer Chiang Ching-kuo
Chiang Ching-kuo
Chiang Ching-kuo , Kuomintang politician and leader, was the son of President Chiang Kai-shek and held numerous posts in the government of the Republic of China...
, who by then had risen to the position of President of the Republic of China
President of the Republic of China
The President of the Republic of China is the head of state and commander-in-chief of the Republic of China . The Republic of China was founded on January 1, 1912, to govern all of China...
. Addressing Chiang as "my brother", he again touched upon the theme of the common origin of the two parties, and urged Chiang to take proactive steps towards the reunification of the mainland and Taiwan
Chinese reunification
Chinese reunification refers to the bringing together of all of the territories controlled by the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China under a single political entity...
.
Liao died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
at 5:22 AM on 10 June 1983 in Beijing. His heart attack came at an untimely juncture for China, as he was widely anticipated to be the next candidate for the position of Vice President of the People's Republic of China
Vice President of the People's Republic of China
The Vice President of the People's Republic of China , formerly called Vice Chairman of the People's Republic of China from 1954 to 1975, or abbreviated Guójiā Fù Zhǔxí 国家副主席, literally State Vice-chairman) is a senior position in the government of the People's Republic of China.-Selection and...
.