Rong Yiren | |
|---|---|
| 荣毅仁 | |
 Rong Yiren in 1949 | |
| Vice President of China | |
| In office March 12, 1993 – March 15, 1998 | |
| President | Jiang Zemin |
| Preceded by | Wang Zhen |
| Succeeded by | Hu Jintao |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1916-05-01)May 1, 1916 |
| Died | October 26, 2005(2005-10-26) (aged 89) |
| Political party | China Democratic National Construction Association |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Larry Yung |
| Alma mater | St. John's University, Shanghai |
| Rong Yiren | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 榮毅仁 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 荣毅仁 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Rong Yiren (Chinese:荣毅仁;pinyin:Róng Yìrén;Wade–Giles:Jung2 I4-jen2; May 1, 1916 – October 26, 2005)[1] was theVice President of China from 1993 to 1998 and was heavily involved with the opening of the Chinese economy to western investment. Rong is known both in China and in theWestern world as "the Red Capitalist" because his family were some of the fewpre-1949 industrialists in Shanghai to have been treated well by theChinese Communist Party in return for their co-operation with the government of thePeople's Republic of China.
Rong was born on May 1, 1916, inWuxi, a city nearShanghai in Jiangsu Province.[2] His fatherRong Desheng and uncleRong Zongjing were the founders and operators of aflour andcotton milling business. He graduated with a degree in history from the Christian-runSt. John's University. Then he was assigned to manage a part of the family business and he took over the running of all 24 mills upon the death of his elder brother Paul Yung (Rong Yixin) in an air crash onBasalt Island,Hong Kong, on 21 December 1948.[3]
At the end of theChinese Civil War and the founding of the People's Republic of China, Rong chose to stay on theChinese mainland instead of fleeing toHong Kong orTaiwan as most businessmen did. His family was allowed to keep their business until 1956, when all private businesses became state-owned. His family was given $6 million in compensation.
In the 1950s, Mao Zedong endorsed him many times for his contributions to the Communist Party. When Korean hostilities broke out, Rong's family contributed substantial amounts of funding along with considerable clothing. He was appointed the vice-mayor ofShanghai in 1957 and Vice Minister of Textiles concurrently since 1959,[1][4] later served as aneconomics adviser for theChinese Communist Party.
During theCultural Revolution, he was denounced as a "capitalist". He lost a great deal of his personal wealth and was the target ofdeath threats from theRed Guards, radical youth organizations aligned with the new social and cultural policies ofMao Zedong. In a situation typical of disgraced government officials, entrepreneurs and intellectuals during the Cultural Revolution, Rong was given a demeaning job as ajanitor. However, he and his family received protection fromZhou Enlai from persecution from the Red Guards. As Rong was not a Communist party member at the time, Zhou was not able to obtain approval from Mao Zedong to protect Rong officially. Instead, Zhou coordinated withChen Jinhua to place Rong's mansion under the control of Red Guards affiliated with the Ministry of Textiles, who were deeply sympathetic to him and protected him from other Red Guard factions.[5]
After the death of Mao Zedong and the end of Cultural Revolution,Deng Xiaoping appointed Rong as an advisor for theeconomic opening of China. He set up theChina International Trust and Investment Corp., or CITIC, in 1978, which was responsible for much of the initial western investment in China.
At the height of the pro-democracy movement in 1989, he risked his life by asking the top Chinese leaders to negotiate with the students. A week after theTiananmen Square Protests of 1989, he called the crackdown “extraordinarily wise and correct.”[6]
He was appointed to the ceremonial post of vice president in 1993.
Rong retired on March 15, 1998, and died on October 26, 2005.[2] He was listed as one of the richest men in Asia, with a family fortune of $1.9 billion in 2000 (equivalent to $3 billion in 2024). Most of this wealth can be attributed to Rong's sonLarry Yung in his role aschair ofCITIC Pacific.[7]
He died ofpneumonia on October 26, 2005, at the age of 89. His funeral was held on November 3, 2005, and he was interred atBabaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery.[8]
He marriedYang Jianqing (Chinese:杨鑑清) in 1937. Yang died on January 8, 2014, inHong Kong.[9][10]
{{cite web}}:Check|url= value (help);Missing or empty|title= (help)| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Vice President of China 1993–1998 | Succeeded by |
| Business positions | ||
| New title | Chairman ofChina International Trust and Investment Corporation 1978–1993 | Succeeded by Wei Mingyi |
| General-manager ofChina International Trust and Investment Corporation 1978–1993 | Succeeded by | |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Board ofJinan University 1985–1993 | Succeeded by |
