Qin Jiwei | |
|---|---|
秦基偉 | |
 Qin Jiwei in 1955 | |
| State Councilor of China | |
| In office 12 April 1988 – 29 March 1993 | |
| Premier | Li Peng |
| Minister of National Defense | |
| In office 12 April 1988 – 29 March 1993 | |
| Premier | Li Peng |
| Preceded by | Zhang Aiping |
| Succeeded by | Chi Haotian |
| Political Commissar of theBeijing Military Region | |
| In office September 1977 – January 1980 | |
| Preceded by | Liu Zihou |
| Succeeded by | Yuan Shengping [zh] |
| Commander of theChengdu Military Region | |
| In office 1973 – October 1975 | |
| Preceded by | Liang Xingchu |
| Succeeded by | Liu Xingyuan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1914-11-16)16 November 1914 |
| Died | 2 February 1997(1997-02-02) (aged 82) Beijing, China |
| Political party | Chinese Communist Party |
| Children | Qin Weijiang Qin Tian |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  People's Republic of China |
| Branch/service |  People's Liberation Army Ground Force |
| Years of service | 1927–1993 |
| Battles/wars | Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) Chinese Civil War (1946–1950) Korean War (1950–1953) |
| Awards |
|
Qin Jiwei (simplified Chinese:秦基伟;traditional Chinese:秦基偉;pinyin:Qín Jīwěi; 16 November 1914 – 2 February 1997) was a general of the People's Republic of China, Minister of National Defense and a member of theChinese Communist PartyPolitburo.
Qin Jiwei was born to a poor peasant family[1] in Huang'an (nowHong'an), Hubei Province of China in November 1914.
Qin joined a Hebei guerrilla band after the failedAutumn Harvest Uprising, and spent his earliest years in the military under the leadership ofXu Haidong andXu Xiangqian, and alongside future generalsChen Zaidao andXu Shiyou. After a series of setbacks, the unit Qin served in was redesignated the 31st Division, Red 11th Corps.[2]
TheFourth Front Army participated in theLong March as a separate unit from the main force underZhou Enlai andMao Zedong. At the close of the Long March,Xu Xiangqian's Right Column (to which Qin,Chen Xilian andLi Xiannian were assigned) were shattered by Muslim cavalry in a battle that might have turned out differently hadMao Zedong not abandonFourth Front Army commanderZhang Guotao. One story has Qin and future general secretaryHu Yaobang captured in the battle and held prisoner for a year or so before finding an opportunity to escape.[citation needed]
In 1939, Qin was commander of the 1st Military Sub-District of the Jinjiyu Military Region and at the end of the Sino-Japanese War, Chief-of-Staff of the Taihang Military District. His units were organized into the 9th Column in 1947, and later combined withChen Geng's 4th Column into the 4th Army of the2nd Field Army (二野), this Army’s leader isDeng Xiaoping. In 1949, Qin commanded the 4th Army’s15th Corps.[3]
Qin Jiwei gained fame during theKorean War by commanding the 15th Corps at theBattle of Triangle Hill, which is regarded by the Chinese as one of the decisive engagements of the war.[citation needed]
In the 1954 reorganization that established 13 Military Regions,Xie Fuzhi was given command of the Kunming MR and Qin was made deputy commander. He was awarded the rank of Lt. General in 1955 and eventually, he became a member of the National Defense Council (1965-75),[4] and commander of theKunming Military Region (1960-67) andSichuan Military Region (1973-76). In 1975, he was named political commissar of theBeijing MR, and in 1980-87 was its commander. It was in this role that he commanded the September 1981 fieldmilitary parade in theHebei Province[5] and the 1984National Day parade commemorating the35th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.[6] In the latter post, Qin took over from two of the so-called 'Small Gang of Four', commander Chen Xilian and political commissarJi Dengkui.[citation needed]
Qin was a member of the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13thCentral Committees. In 1977, he was named to the party Military Affairs Committee and a decade later, as one of only two military officers named to the politburo (the other wasYang Shangkun). In September 1988, Qin was promoted to full general and made Defense Minister, until 1990.[citation needed]
In May 1989, Qin was reported to be reluctant to use force againstprotesters in Tiananmen Square inBeijing.[7] On 17 May 1989, Qin, as Defense Minister andpolitburo member, attended a meeting at the home of paramount leaderDeng Xiaoping, and was directed to impose martial law on the demonstrators inTiananmen Square.[8] Qin declined to do so immediately, citing the need to receive party approval. Deng was thechairman of the party'sCentral Military Commission, butZhao Ziyang, asgeneral party secretary, was nominally head of theparty. After the meeting, Qin called Zhao's office, hoping that Zhao would call off the martial law order.[8] He waited four hours until early morning on 18 May, for Zhao's reply, which never came.[8] Qin later publicly supported the military crackdown but was stripped of the defense minister position the following year.[8] At his death in February 1997, his only official post was Vice Chairman of theNational People's Congress.[9]
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| New title | Commander of the 15th Army of theFourth Corps of the Second Field Army of the People's Liberation Army 1949–1953 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commander of the Kunming Military District 1957–1971 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commander of theChengdu Military Region 1973–1975 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Political Commissar of theBeijing Military Region 1977–1980 | Succeeded by |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by GeneralZhang Aiping | Minister of National Defense 1988–1993 | Succeeded by GeneralChi Haotian |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
