The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB), founded in 1945, was composed mainly of industrial and commercial entrepreneurs in large and medium-sized cities and middle- and high-ranking members of the economic community, most of whom tended to support the CCP and work closely with it. Early members included Huang Yanpei, Zhang Naiji, Hu Zhewen, Sun Qimeng and others.
All of these above-mentioned people participated in the first session of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference held before the establishment of the CCP, and among them, Huang Yanpei was also appointed as Vice Premier of the State Council. However, like other senior officials of the Democratic Party, Huang Yanpei and others who believed in the CCP and worked for its unification did not realize they were in a boat of thieves until bad luck struck them.
Zhang Naiqi, the founder of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB), was tortured
Zhang Naiqi, who was from the same clan as Zhang Bojun, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Democratic League, and Zhang Shizhao, a great intellectual, was an economist and one of the founders of the DAB, who had made a creditable contribution to the united war of the CCP. After the establishment of the Chinese Communist Party, Zhang first became an advisor to the People’s Bank of China and joined the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), where he continued to serve as a deputy chairman of the DAB Central Committee and later as minister of the Ministry of Food. He was also responsible for the creation of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce with Li Weihan and others, serving as a deputy chairman.
On June 8, 1957, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) published the “Instruction on Organizing Forces to Prepare for Counterattack against Rightists”, followed by an editorial in the People’s Daily entitled “Why? Why is this? On June 8, 1957, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) published an instruction on organizing forces to prepare for the attack of rightists, followed by an editorial in the People’s Daily, “Why is this?”, and an article in the News Daily, “About “Made of Special Materials” – Discussion with Mr. Zhang Naiqi”.
In 1962, Zhang Naiqi was expelled from the DAB for his petition to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference for vindication, which was considered an act of “reversal”. After the outbreak of the Cultural Revolution, Zhang Naiqi was tortured and deprived of almost all his property. In his son, Zhang Lifan, a contemporary scholar, wrote “The Book of Long Nights and Lonely Lights”, which records his tragic ordeal.
In the book, it is written that after the Red Guards raided his home, Zhang Naiqi wrote and posted a “Letter of Appeal for Wrongdoing”, describing his patriotic history, explaining that being classified as a rightist in 1957 was an unjust case, and talking to the head of the Red Guards who came to “break the Four Olds” in an attempt to ease the situation. This worked for a while, and the chief withdrew his troops and instructed my father to remove the artifacts from the living room so that they would not be destroyed.
However, not long after, on August 24, 1966, the “revolutionary masses” from the State Council Administration of Institutional Affairs visited the house and began to raid it without further ado, and the Red Guards from several nearby high schools also gathered in the wind. They escorted Zhang Naiqi to the auspicious theater next to Dong’an Market to attend a “beating rally”. Those who were beaten were the “key targets” of the district, and once they entered this “ghost gate”, there was no return.
Under the belt whipping, blood and flesh flying, the surrounding sufferers all breathed their last. Only Zhang Naiqi, who was nearly 70 years old, relied on his years of qigong practice to hold on, but his life was in between breaths. At this time, a police officer came to the meeting and asked the Red Guards for someone, saying that if this person was killed, it would not be good to explain to the central government, and sent the injured father to the nearby Xiehe Hospital.
After being carried into the Xiehe Hospital, Zhang Naiqi was first denied medical treatment, and later received it, because Zhou Enlai ordered it after receiving a note written by Zhang Naiqi asking for help.
Zhang Naiqi’s suffering did not end after he was sent home from the hospital, having spent a total of eight days and nights in various kinds of torture and humiliation, during which he remained on hunger strike. The Red Guards also dragged Zhang’s fifth wife, Wang Shixiang, who was seriously ill, back home barefoot from her hospital bed and hinged her hair to be criticized together; and piled up his entire book collection in the courtyard, lit a roaring fire, held his body, and pushed and beat him under the scorching flames ……
In 1967, Zhang Naiqi wrote “Seventy Autobiographies”, describing these inhumane days: “This was the greatest calamity I had ever encountered in my life, and it was the most severe exercise and test for me”; “The seven days after August 25, there were always several groups of people coming to torture and abuse me every day. I was tortured and abused by several groups of people every day. The door was open and unattended, so the freedom of torture and abuse was ample. It is worth remembering that I was beaten with a wire-wrapped rubber whip, which caused swelling that did not fade easily. I was also burned with matches and shot in the head with a steam gun. In addition, such as pouring cold water on my head, such as filling my nose with a water bottle, such as forcing me to eat dirty food, etc., even if it is mild. The scary thing was that someone actually advocated pouring chili pepper into my nasal passages. Probably because I couldn’t find cayenne pepper in my house, it didn’t happen. But in the end, before we had to move out, someone actually poured ammonia into my nostrils after smearing my face with oil paint; I really don’t know how these bad people were educated.”
The above text is chilling.
In addition, as a collector, Zhang Naiqi naturally had a large collection. In addition to those taken away by the raid, the rest were loaded onto six large trucks and shipped away by Kang Sheng’s order. After the end of the Cultural Revolution, Zhang Lifan received an incomplete list of cultural relics seized by powerful people, including Kang Sheng, Chen Bodha, Lin Biao, Cao Yi’ou, etc., especially Kang Sheng’s appetite is the largest. However, the list is not Zhang Naiqi important cultural relics, the whereabouts of many important collections are still unknown, and not included in the above list. According to the figures provided by the State Administration of Cultural Relics, the Zhang Naiqi relics surrendered by the Red Guards were 1464 pieces, while only 1134 pieces were returned by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics in 1980.
On May 13, 1977, Zhang Naiqi passed away in the basement of a Beijing hospital. His wife, Wang Shixiang, died during the beating by the Red Guards in 1966.
With such a tragic experience, what kind of inspiration did Zhang Naiqi bring to people? Does Zhang Naiqi regret that he listened to Zhou Enlai and the Chinese Communist Party?
Huang Yanpei’s wife died and his son died
When it comes to Huang Yanpei, many people immediately think of the “Huang Yanpei law of cycles”. In the late war, the defeat of Japan was an indisputable fact, and the two parties began to consider the issue of power. At that time, some democratic parties hoped that the three parties would rule together in the future, so they decided to go to Yan’an to convince the Chinese Communist Party, including Huang Yanpei and Fu Sian.
When these democrats arrived in Yan’an on July 1, 1945, Mao, Zhou and Zhu De personally greeted them at the airport and offered them warm hospitality. In a few short days, Huang Yanpei and Fu Snen came to different conclusions, Fu Snen further recognized the true nature of Mao and the CCP, while Huang Yanpei was deceived by the false image of Mao and the CCP, and in his subsequent book “Return from Yan’an”, he recorded a conversation with Mao about the “law of the cycle”.
In Huang Yanpei’s view, individuals, families, groups, and even a national regime all have their own laws of decline, which are: either “political neglect and eunuchs”, that is, those in power gradually slacken off in governing the country and do not think of making progress, resulting in serious bureaucracy, villains in power, and disruption of government; or “the death of people and government”, that is, if the wise ruler or wise minister is not in power, then the good policy will be abolished; or “seeking glory and taking shame”, that is, the motive and effect are seriously deviated, in short, no one can escape from this law of the cycle.
In response to Huang Yanpei’s question, Mao said the CCP had found a new way, namely democracy, that is, to let the people monitor the government, so that the government would not dare to slacken off. Only when everyone rises up and takes responsibility, the government will not fall and Mao also said that the CCP can jump out of this cyclical law.
But the world with a clear mind can see that since the establishment of the Chinese Communist Party in October 1949, the Chinese people have never enjoyed any democracy, and the essence of the democracy they claim is the rule of man. Huang Yanpei, who lacked the wisdom of Fusi, realized that Mao’s words were really lies only under the rule of the CCP.
After the establishment of the Chinese Communist Party, Huang Yanpei was indeed reappointed by Mao as Premier of the State Council, Minister of Light Industry, and Chairman of the Central Committee of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, which was equivalent to the position of Chairman. During his tenure, Huang held different views on some of the CCP’s policies, especially opposing the unified purchase and sale of grain for farmers. Mao called him a “spokesman for the capitalists”. The CCP later excluded all non-Communists from government agencies, and Huang was retained only in his positions in the National People’s Congress, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and the Central Committee of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong.
Huang Yanpei and his wife Wang Jingshi had five sons and four daughters: Huang Fanggang, Huang Jingwu, Huang Wanli, Huang Daneng and Huang Bixin, and four daughters: Huang Lu, Huang Xiaotong, Huang Xuechao and Huang Suhui. These nine children in turn had 30 grandchildren. After the death of Wang Jisi in 1940, Huang Yanpei married Yao Weijun and had two pairs of children, the older two daughters were Huang Tian and Huang Dingnian; the younger two sons were named Huang Fangyi and Huang Gang.
In 1957, the Chinese Communist Party launched the “Anti-Rightist Movement”, and Huang Yanpei’s adult sons and daughters, Huang Wanli, Huang Daneng, Huang Bixin, Huang Lu, and Huang Suhui, were all branded as “rightists” and sent to labor. His youngest son-in-law Chen Mang and grandson Wang Shifang were also classified as “rightists”.
At the end of 1965, before the outbreak of the Cultural Revolution, Huang Yanpei passed away, avoiding the impact of the Cultural Revolution, but his family continued to suffer from bad luck. His wife, Yao Weijun, committed suicide on January 20, 1968 by taking sleeping pills because she could not bear the criticism and beatings. His youngest son, Huang Bixin, was forced to commit suicide shortly after the Cultural Revolution began because of the unresolved rightist issue; his wife, Yu Qiyun, was also severely beaten and forced to jump from a building in 1968, and bled to death. Their youngest daughter, Huang Keqing, disappeared.
Huang Wanli, a famous water conservancy expert who was known for his opposition to the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, had his home raided during the Cultural Revolution, and some valuable paintings and photographs were torn up, and he was beaten by Red Guards and had his hair shaved into a yin-yang head. After that, he was kicked out of his home and three generations had to live in a group dormitory in Tsinghua. His salary was deducted and he was only paid 20 yuan a month for living expenses. In addition, he was ordered to participate in on-campus labor. in 1969, Huang Wanli was sent down to Jiangxi to work; in 1972, he was sent to Sanmenxia to receive reform and criticism, and suffered a lot.
If Huang Yanpei knew what happened to his family, he would have been grief-stricken.
The deputy director of the Central Committee of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, Rong Yiren three times asked to resign from the party
In the Republican period, the Rong family business is famous, Rong Zongjing, Rong Desheng two brothers started from scratch, in Wuxi, Shanghai and other places founded more than 20 private enterprises, and “flour king”, “cotton yarn king” renowned for decades in the business community, the impact on China’s national economy He had a profound impact on China’s national economy. Rong Desheng’s son was Rong Yiren, who was called the “Red Capitalist” by the Chinese Communist Party.
During the late Communist civil war, the Kuomintang’s monetary and price restriction policies caused serious inflation and a major shock to the Rong family. Shanghai industrialists moved their capital overseas to find a new way out, and the Rong family was no exception. Rong Zongjing’s eldest son Rong Hongyuan, Rong HonSan, Rong Honqing and Rong DeSheng’s sons Rong Erren and Rong Yanren left Shanghai one after another, while Rong DeSheng and Rong Yiren decided to stay on the mainland after repeated deliberations.
Due to their special background, Rong Desheng and Rong Yiren were supported and reused by the Chinese Communist Party at the beginning, such as providing raw materials, purchasing products for commissioning and processing, etc. Rong Yiren also served as a member of the Finance Committee of the Military Commission of East China, Vice Mayor of Shanghai, Vice Chairman of the Municipal Federation of Industry and Commerce, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Textile Industry, and Vice Chairman of the First to Fourth Central Committee of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong. However, in 1956, he had to hand over all 56 textile and flour mills, which were the assets of his ancestors, to the Chinese Communist Party for the purpose of consolidating power, under the banner of “implementing public-private partnership in private industry and commerce” but in fact forcibly plundering private enterprises. Chen Yi, then mayor of Shanghai, took him as a role model in a general meeting and declared that “Rong Yiren is a red capitalist”.
I don’t know if it was because he had seen the miserable fate of the entrepreneurs around him, or because he had already understood the viciousness of the Chinese Communist Party, but Rong Yiren applied for membership four times, but was not approved until he was 69 years old in 1985.
According to Hong Kong’s Trend magazine, Rong Yiren first applied for membership in June 1951, when he was 35 years old and a member of the Finance Committee of the East China Military Commission. Chen Yi advised him in a very revealing way: “It’s more convenient for you to stay outside the Party, you can do more, and in another 10 years, when you have your 45th birthday, I will be your introducer to the Party.”
In December 1957, Rong Yiren, who had experienced the “anti-rightist” struggle and was the vice mayor of Shanghai, felt the urgency of joining the CPC, and applied for membership for the second time. But Ke Qingshi, then secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee, said, “You’d better stay in the democratic parties and the industrial and commercial circles. If you join the Party, all capitalists, big and small, will join the Party, and then it will be difficult for me to sit in my position as secretary of the municipal party committee.”
In October 1962, when Rong Yiren was Vice Minister of the Ministry of Textile Industry, he once again mentioned to Zhou Enlai that Chen Yi had introduced him to the Party. Zhou Enlai’s reply was, “Chen Laozi is not a broken promise. My opinion, you are still free outside the Party, if you enter the Party, too much political activity will bury your expertise, which is a pity.”
At the beginning of the outbreak of the Cultural Revolution, Rong Yiren’s family was also hit. Rong Yiren’s right index finger was broken by an iron pillar, his wife Yang Jianqing even fainted several times, and even their fourth daughter Zhiyuan, who was mentally impaired due to cerebritis, was not spared. Although Mr. and Mrs. Rong Yiren later saved their lives, Rong Yiren was still assigned to carry coal to the boiler room and fell ill with back pain, while his fundus hemorrhage was not treated in time, leading to blindness in his left eye. After losing the sight in his left eye, he was assigned to scrub toilets.
After the end of the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese Communist Party, eager to develop the economy, once again thought of the Rong family’s overseas connections, and Rong Yiren was once again promoted by the Chinese Communist Party. 1978, Rong became vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and in 1979, he became president of the China International Trust and Investment Corporation, which was directly under the State Council. With his business strategies and overseas connections, Rong Yiren made a great contribution to the economic development of the CCP and other countries.
In April 1985, at the age of 69, Rong Yiren applied to join the Party again and finally got what he wanted, with his introducer being Wan Li, then Vice Premier of the State Council, and Peng Chong, Vice Chairman of the National People’s Congress.
But what people did not expect was that Rong Yiren, who had easily joined the Party, applied for resignation from the Party three times. The first request was related to the June 4 Incident; the second was due to a disagreement with Jiang Zemin; and the third was in June 2000, when Rong Yiren, already retired, came forward on behalf of the major vase parties and asked the Central Politburo to open up the democratic parties to political participation, and Jiang Zemin told him to cool off. In a fit of rage, Rong Yiren stopped participating in party activities until Jiang stepped down in December 2002.
In October 2005, Rong Yiren died in Beijing. He left behind a last message entitled “I want to say a few words to the Party,” which reads: A party that has lost its faith, a party that is not bound by the law, a party that is detached from the people, a party that pursues monetary interests, is hopeless and betrays the People’s Republic.
It is true what it says.
Sun Qimeng, chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB), was sentenced to eight years in prison
Sun Qimeng, one of the founders of the DAB, worked as a teacher in his early years and was influenced by the Chinese Communist Party.
In 1948, Sun Qimeng went to the ruling area of the Chinese Communist Party on behalf of the DAB and participated in the preparation of the Political Consultative Conference. In 1950, he secretly joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) and was appointed Deputy Secretary General of the State Council and Director of the Personnel Bureau, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Deputy Secretary General of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Vice Chairman of the DAB, and Chairman of the DAB.
After the Communist Party launched the “Anti-Rightist” campaign in 1957, the Central Committee of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) shouted the slogan “Listen to Chairman Mao, follow the Communist Party, and follow the road of socialism” at the Second Congress in 1959. The so-called “listen, follow, and go” slogan. However, other democratic parties, such as the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB), which followed Mao and the CPC, were still the target of beatings.
After the outbreak of the Cultural Revolution in 1966, all democratic parties were ordered by the Red Guards to cease their offices, and the DAB was no exception. The DAB also ceased its activities one after another. Many of its members, as “targets of dictatorship,” were labeled as “cow devils and snake gods” and “reactionary capitalists. His “heart-to-heart” materials and speeches to the CCP in previous campaigns were all taken as evidence of guilt. Sun Qimeng was one of them, and was not only censored but also imprisoned in Qincheng prison for eight years, and his three children also suffered a lot.
However, after the end of the Cultural Revolution, Sun Qimeng seemed to have forgotten what the CCP had done to him and continued to follow the CCP closely, standing up for the CCP’s United Front, and dragging economist Cheng Siwei, who was also persecuted during the Cultural Revolution, into the DAB. Isn’t it pathetic?
Conclusion
Naturally, the above four are not the only high-ranking DAB officials who were persecuted or killed by the CCP. They also include Hu Hu Ang, Deputy Director General of the DAB Central Committee; Sun Xiaocun, Secretary General of the DAB Central Committee; Cun Shusheng, Member of the DAB Central Committee and Director General of the DAB Yunnan Provincial Committee; Liu Nianyi, Member of the Standing Committee of the DAB Central Committee and Deputy Secretary General of the DAB Shanghai Committee; Wang Xiyao, Member of the Standing Committee of the DAB Central Committee and Member of the Standing Committee of the DAB Shanghai Municipal Committee; Tang Xunze, Member of the Standing Committee of the DAB Central Committee and Director General of the DAB Zhejiang Provincial Committee ……
Behind each name is a nightmare to look back on, and the originator is the Chinese Communist Party. I wonder how many senior officials of the DAB can understand the real root cause behind it after having those painful experiences.
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