Xie Fuzhi

Xie Fuzhi (simplified Chinese: 谢富治; traditional Chinese: 謝富治; pinyin: Xiè Fùzhì; Wade–Giles: Hsieh Fu-chih; 26 September 1909 – 26 March 1972) was a Communist Party of China military commander, political commissar, and national security specialist. Known for his efficiency and loyalty to Mao Zedong, Xie played a key role during the Cultural Revolution in hunting down Mao’s enemies as Minister of Public Security from 1959 to 1972.

Early Life and Military Career

Xie was born in 1909 in Hong’an County, Hubei. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1931 at the age of 22. Prior to 1949, Xie served as a political commissar in the 4th Column of the 2nd Field Army, which was involved in the victorious Huai Hai Campaign against the Kuomintang. After the campaign, his unit was merged into the newly formed 14th Army of the 2nd Field Army as the 41st Division. Xie emerged from the post-liberation reorganization as Political Commissar of the 4th Army, 2nd Field Army, serving with General Chen Geng and as Deputy Political Commissar of the 3rd Army, 2nd Field Army under General Chen Xilian.

Post-1949 Career

After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, Xie was appointed Deputy Minister of Public Security. He became the first secretary of the CPC Yunnan Committee and served in these capacities until 1959, when Mao Zedong appointed him as Minister of Public Security, replacing Luo Ruiqing. In 1955, he was conferred the rank of Da Jiang (General of the Army). Xie was elected a member of the CPC Central Committee at the Eighth National Congress in 1956 and a member of the Central Military Commission.

Cultural Revolution

During the Cultural Revolution, Xie played a significant role in supporting the Red Guards and encouraging their actions against perceived enemies of the revolution. In a 1966 speech, Xie effectively gave the Red Guards carte blanche to confiscate and kill their opponents, contributing to the violence of the era. His support for the Cultural Revolution led to his election as an alternate member of the Politburo, secretary of the Secretariat, and a member of the reorganized Beijing Committee in 1966. He was also a member of the powerful Cultural Revolution Group.

In 1967, Xie was elected chairman of the new revolutionary committee in Beijing and became the first political commissar of the Beijing Military Region. He launched an anti-revisionist campaign within the Ministry of Public Security, accusing it of following a counter-revolutionary line under Luo Ruiqing. His support for the Cultural Revolution earned him a full membership in the Politburo at the Ninth Congress in 1969. In 1971, he was appointed first secretary of the re-elected Beijing Party Committee.

The Wuhan Incident

In July 1967, Xie played a critical role in the Wuhan Incident, where he and Wang Li were sent to Wuhan to persuade General Chen Zaidao to obey orders from Premier Zhou Enlai. After being detained and humiliated by Chen’s forces, Xie was eventually rescued by an army intervention and welcomed back to Beijing with a mass rally in Tiananmen Square on July 25. Xie then provided military weapons to favored Red Guard factions, including supplying 500 rifles to the Jinggangshan Commune of Beijing’s Teacher’s University.

Legacy

Xie died suddenly in 1972, before the denunciation of the Gang of Four in 1976. However, he was posthumously identified along with Kang Sheng as responsible for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution and guilty of “anti-party activities.” He was expelled from the Party in 1980, and his ashes were removed from the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery.

Source from: Wikipedia