Qiu Huizuo | |
|---|---|
| 邱会作 | |
 Qiu Huizuo in 1955 | |
| Director of thePLA General Logistics Department | |
| In office October 14, 1959 – September 24, 1971 | |
| Preceded by | Hong Xuezhi |
| Succeeded by | Zhang Zongxun |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1914-04-16)April 16, 1914 |
| Died | July 18, 2002(2002-07-18) (aged 88) Beijing, China |
| Political party | Chinese Communist Party |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  People's Republic of China |
| Branch/service | People's Liberation Army |
| Years of service | 1929–1971 |
| Rank |  Lieutenant General |
Qiu Huizuo (Chinese:邱会作;Wade–Giles:Ch'iu Hui-tso; April 16, 1914 – July 18, 2002) was alieutenant general of thePeople's Liberation Army (PLA), best known as one of the "four guardian warriors" of Vice ChairmanLin Biao during theCultural Revolution.[1] Qiu rose through the ranks of the PLA during thecivil war between theChinese Communist Party and theKuomintang. He took charge as the PLA logistics chief in 1959, and was persecuted at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution. He was later rehabilitated owing to the blessing ofZhou Enlai and Lin Biao, and elevated to thePolitburo of the Chinese Communist Party in 1969. In return, he helped to persecute Lin's enemies and consolidate Lin's power in the PLA. After Lin's flight and death in 1971, Qiu was purged and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Qiu was born inXingguo County,Jiangxi Province on April 16, 1914. He was schooled in a localsishu (private school specializing in education in Chinese classics).[2]
He joined the militia forces in his home county in 1929 at the age of fifteen. He joined theChinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1932. In 1934–35, he took part in theLong March. According to Qiu's autobiography, shortly before the Communists' forced exodus from their base in Jiangxi, he was almost executed by party intelligence officials who thought he possessed too much sensitive information regarding military logistics. However, on the way to his execution, he ran intoZhou Enlai, who spared his life and put him under the wing of the logistics headYe Jizhuang.[2] By the time the Communist forces arrived in northern Shaanxi, Qiu was tasked with logistical work, ensuring that the army had sufficient supplies.[2]
After theChinese Civil War resumed between the CCP and Kuomintang in 1945, Qiu served inManchuria aspolitical commissar of the Eighth Column of Lin Biao'sFourth Field Army. Qiu, being a relatively junior officer, was not particularly close to Lin Biao at the time. He did not meet Lin in person until 1948, when Lin put him in charge of logistics of the Fourth Field Army. Qiu did work closely withHuang Yongsheng, who was commander of the Eighth Column. They participated in theLiaoshen Campaign,Pingjin Campaign, and theHengbao Campaign.[3]
After the CCP won the Civil War and established the People's Republic of China, Qiu was appointed Director of the Political Department of theSouth China Military Region, serving under commanderYe Jianying and deputy commander Huang Yongsheng.[3]
In 1955, Qiu was appointed deputy director and political commissar of thePLA General Logistics Department (GLD), working under directorHong Xuezhi. He also attained the rank oflieutenant general, when the PLA awarded military ranks for the first time in 1955. At theLushan Conference in 1959, Defence MinisterPeng Dehuai was purged for criticizingMao Zedong'sGreat Leap Forward and replaced by Lin Biao. Hong Xuezhi was also dismissed for following Peng's lead, and Qiu was named head of the GLD.[3]
When theCultural Revolution began in 1966, Qiu was labelled a counter-revolutionary element and targeted by the rebels in the GLD. He was subject to physical abuse and torture, fainting many times.[2] Qiu appealed directly toLin Biao for help, who arranged his dramatic rescue. In the early hours of 25 January 1967, Lin's men took him from the GLD compound and moved him to a safe location in theWestern Hills. Qiu called the day his "rebirth".[1]
After Qiu's release, marshalsLiu Bocheng,Nie Rongzhen and Ye Jianying visited Qiu as he was undergoing treatment. The senseless mistreatment of Qiu was one of a series of events that pushed marshals Nie and Ye to voice their displeasure with the Cultural Revolution during theFebruary Countercurrent, the last serious phase of dissent in the senior ranks of the party during the movement. Zhou Enlai himself asked Qiu to be restored in his leadership position in the GLD. On Qiu, Zhou commented, "the logistics department is like a smallerState Council, comrade Qiu has helped me with many things."[2]
In May 1967, Lin Biao appointed Qiu, together withLi Zuopeng andWu Faxian, leaders of the "proletarian revolutionaries of the armed forces." In return, Qiu helped to persecute Lin's enemies and consolidate Lin's power in the PLA. He authorized the torture of 462 people in the GLD, eight of whom died as a result,[1] including lieutenant generalsFu Lianzhang andTang Ping.[4] He also attacked GeneralXiao Hua, director of thePLA General Political Department (GPD), and wreaked havoc in the GPD.[1]
At the9th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 1969, Qiu and many other PLA generals emerged as the main beneficiaries of the Cultural Revolution after the destruction of the old guard. Qiu was elevated to theCentral Committee of the Chinese Communist Party as well as thePolitburo.[1] Qiu's political fortunes, however, were short-lived. When Lin Biao fled the country in September 1971 in an event still shrouded in mystery, Qiu was implicated by association.[5] He was relieved of his duties on September 24, 1971, then sent to confinement in a military base inShunyi while the authorities sorted out the consequences of the incident. Qiu was then expelled from the party in 1973.[5]
Qiu was considered one of the main culprits of the so-called "Lin Biao-Jiang Qing Counter-revolutionary clique" and went on trial along with theGang of Four in 1981. Of Lin Biao's inner circle, Qiu was said to have a good attitude during the proceedings, openly confessing to the charges and kneeling in front of Lt. Gen. Tang Ping's widow to seek her forgiveness.[4] On January 25, 1981, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison (including time served since 1971).[5][1] He was released in 1987 after serving his full sentence, and resettled inXi'an where he reunited with his family and was afforded some basic benefits from the state as well as a living stipend of about 200 yuan a month. As his health worsened in 2001, he was sent toPeking Union Medical College Hospital for treatment, and died there in 2002.[5]
Qiu wrote an autobiography, released in Hong Kong in 2012, which includes details on the intrigues of the Cultural Revolution and his relationship with Lin Biao. In it, Qiu portrays himself as a bulwark against the political machinations and ambitions ofJiang Qing.[2]
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