Liang Lingguang | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
梁灵光 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
| Governor of Guangdong | |||||||||
| In office April 1983 – August 1985 | |||||||||
| Preceded by | Liu Tianfu | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Ye Xuanping | ||||||||
| Mayor of Guangzhou | |||||||||
| In office September 1980 – July 1983 | |||||||||
| Preceded by | Yang Shangkun | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Ye Xuanping | ||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||
| Born | November 1916 Yongchun County,Fujian, China | ||||||||
| Died | 25 February 2006(2006-02-25) (aged 89) Guangzhou,Guangdong, China | ||||||||
| Political party | Chinese Communist Party | ||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 梁靈光 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 梁灵光 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Liang Lingguang (Chinese:梁灵光;Wade–Giles:Liang Ling-kuang; November 1916 – 25 February 2006) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and politician. An anti-Japanese activist in the 1930s, he led a guerrilla force under theNew Fourth Army during theSecond Sino-Japanese War, and rose to Chief of Staff of the 29th Corps of thePeople's Liberation Army during theChinese Civil War.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Liang served as the first Mayor ofXiamen, Vice Governor ofFujian, and later Minister of Light Industry (1977–1980). During thereform and opening era, he was transferred toGuangdong province, where he served as Mayor ofGuangzhou (1980–1983), Governor of Guangdong (1983–1985), and President ofJinan University (1983–1985). He was one of the pioneering reformist leaders who propelled Guangdong's economic rise in the 1980s.
Liang was born in November 1916 in Wufeng Town (吾峰镇),Yongchun County,Fujian, Republic of China.[1] His father, a merchant, died when he was young. His older brother Liang Piyun (梁披云), who had studied in Japan, brought him toShanghai to study at Lida School (立达学园).[2]
When theEmpire of Japan occupiedNortheast China in 1931 following theMukden Incident, Liang participated in anti-Japanese activities organized by the undergroundChinese Communist Party (CCP), and was expelled by his high school. He moved toXiamen, Fujian, where he worked as an editor at the magazinePinghua (平话) and published articles condemning Japanese aggression.[2]
AfterPinghua was shut down by theKuomintang government, Liang returned to Shanghai to continue his education,[2] and lived at the off-campus dorm ofJinan University, then located inZhenru in the outskirts of Shanghai. In 1935, when theDecember 9th Movement broke out in Beijing againstJapanese encroachment in North China, Liang joined Jinan students to petition the Kuomintang government inNanjing to actively resist Japanese aggression. On the train to Nanjing, he met fellow petitioner Zhu Hanzhang (朱含章), a Jinan University student who later became his wife.[3]
In the summer of 1936, Liang moved toKuala Lumpur,British Malaya. There he taught at Zunkong Middle School (尊孔中学) founded by his brother Piyun,[1] and organized anti-Japanese groups such as theSelangor Anti-Imperialism Union under the guidance of theMalayan Communist Party.[2]
When Japan launched its full-scaleinvasion of China in July 1937, Liang returned to China to join the resistance. He enlisted in theNew Fourth Army and fought in the guerrilla war in northernJiangsu province. In 1940, he was appointed thecounty magistrate ofRugao and joined the CCP.[2] He was later appointed county magistrate ofNantong and fought many battles against the forces of Japan and the puppetWang Jingwei regime, even temporarily taking over the Japanese-occupied county seat ofHaimen.[1]
During theChinese Civil War which broke out after thesurrender of Japan, Liang served as Commander of the 33rd Brigade of theEast China Field Army [zh] and Chief of Staff of the 29th Corps of thePeople's Liberation Army. He fought in major battles including theBattle of Huangqiao, theHuaihai campaign, theYangtze River Crossing Campaign, theShanghai Campaign, and the Battle of Fuzhou.[4]
After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Liang was appointed the first Mayor ofXiamen, Fujian, and worked to restore industrial production after the end of the civil war. In March 1956, he became Vice Governor of Fujian and a member of itsprovincial party standing committee.[4] He was dismissed during theCultural Revolution, but was restored to the party standing committee in early 1975, and appointed deputy director of the ProvincialRevolutionary Committee. In November 1977, Liang was transferred to the national government to serve as Minister of Light Industry.[4]
In November 1980, at the beginning of thereform and opening era, Liang was transferred toGuangdong together withRen Zhongyi, to replaceXi Zhongxun andYang Shangkun, who had been transferred to Beijing.[5] Liang served as First Party Secretary and Mayor ofGuangzhou, the provincial capital, while Ren was appointed the provincial Party Chief.[6] In March 1983, Liang was promoted to Governor of Guangdong, succeedingLiu Tianfu. He concurrently served as President ofJinan University, which had been reestablished in Guangzhou.[4] He stepped down as governor in July 1985 and was succeeded byYe Xuanping.[7] Ren, Liu, Liang, and Ye were all considered reform pioneers who propelled the economic development of Guangdong in the 1980s.[6]
From 1985 to 1988, Liang served as Director of the Guangdong Provincial Advisory Commission, and concurrently as the first chairman of China Travel Service Group Corporation (CTS) of Hong Kong. In May 1988, he was elected a member of the Standing Committee of the7th National People's Congress and served as Vice Director of theOverseas Chinese Affairs Committee of the NPC.[4]
Liang was a member of the12th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, and a member of the2nd,5th,6th, and7thNational People's Congresses.[4]
Liang died on 25 February 2006 in Guangzhou, aged 89.[8]