Who would have thought that an old party member who had experienced three wars and who had made great military achievements for our party would defect to Kinmen and defect to the Kuomintang after the founding of New China.
He was Zhang Qingrong, the deputy commander of the 63rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division of the Fuzhou Military Region. At that time, when our country was vigorously building, and the people of the whole country had gone through countless hardships to usher in the era of peace, why did Zhang Qingrong, who held an important position, choose to leave Taiwan at this time? After joining the Kuomintang for a year, why was he secretly executed by Chiang Kai-shek and was placed in a different place? Let's get into today's article.
Zhang Qingrong
Zhang Qingrong, who was shocked by the ideas of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in 1937, resolutely joined the Eighth Route Army and threw himself into the battlefield. In the confrontation against the Japanese army, he charged into the battlefield and annihilated countless enemies.
Due to his outstanding combat ability, Zhang Qingrong was quickly reused by the Party Central Committee, rising from an ordinary Eighth Route Army soldier all the way to battalion commander.
After the end of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Zhang Qingrong at this time was already a soldier who had experienced hundreds of battles, and the outbreak of the War of Liberation made him throw himself into battle again, and the army he led in the war won one victory after another. He was promoted to the head of the anti-aircraft artillery unit.
In 1950, when the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea broke out, Zhang Qingrong took the initiative to ask for help and led the anti-aircraft artillery department to the front.
On the battlefield, Zhang Qingrong commanded properly, aimed at the timing, accurately deployed and controlled, and repelled the enemy one by one. As a result, the anti-aircraft artillery unit has opened up one bloody road after another for our army many times and has made many meritorious achievements. After his triumphant return, Zhang Qingrong, who was only 35 years old, was directly promoted to deputy commander of the 63rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division and was awarded the rank of lieutenant colonel, and his future was unlimited.
Zhang Qingrong became an officer in the Kuomintang army
The victorious end of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea enabled New China to truly gain a relatively peaceful environment. At this time, China was in ruins, all production sectors such as handicrafts, agriculture and industry were in a state of stagnation, most of the buildings and houses were destroyed by the war, the people had no place to live, and the people who had just been freed from the war had not yet come out of the haze of the war. The Party Central Committee ordered that the focus of work should be quickly shifted to economic construction and people's normal lives should be restored as soon as possible.
Zhang Qingrong, who has always been promoted by military merit, believes that he has been fighting all his life, as if he will only fight one thing. Although he was the deputy division commander, he was not disturbed by the status quo.
At that time, the situation in the country was stable, and he had no chance to fight on the battlefield, and he lost the only channel for promotion to an official position, and he was very sad at this time.
In addition, Zhang Qingrong likes to have fun, and it is said that every time he returns from a war, he will secretly patronize the land of the wind and moon to relax himself. Now that there was no longer any battle to fight, Zhang Qingrong's desire for pleasure began to stir.
But in the newly founded New China, there is really no place to entertain. Every day when he is idle, one of the most common things he does is to listen to the radio to pass the time.
On this day, Zhang Qingrong suddenly heard a radio broadcast from Taiwan media, the content of which was roughly: to publicize how rich and beautiful the "happy life" after the Kuomintang fled Taiwan, and vigorously advocated that the mainland military and people come to Taiwan to enjoy life, and everyone who comes to Taiwan will receive a generous bonus. The life depicted inside is like a paradise, and such a "beautiful scene" makes him very moved.
The Kuomintang awarded Zhang Qingrong the medal
In fact, long before the collapse of the National Government in Nanjing, the problem of corruption within the Kuomintang army had already been fully exposed, from senior generals to grass-roots officers and soldiers. This is in sharp contrast to our party's strict grasp of the problem of corruption.
However, when Zhang Qingrong was fighting the Kuomintang, he was very envious after learning about their lives, but he was afraid of being severely punished, so he did not take any action. The arrival of this broadcast once again ignited Zhang Qingrong's yearning for a luxurious life, and he began to listen to the radio of this station frequently.
These broadcasts quickly ate into Zhang Qingrong's heart. On this day, Zhang Qingrong once again heard the enemy's broadcast, and when he heard the huge amount of money that the Kuomintang could reward, Zhang Qingrong completely fell and made up his mind to defect. He then secretly contacted Taiwan's secret service organization and plotted an escape route.
In 1957, when the domestic situation was relatively tense, Zhang Qingrong took this opportunity to prepare to flee. On December 17, Zhang Qingrong made up an excuse and falsely claimed that he needed to go out to run errands, and then left the military camp and arrived at a ferry port in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, where he fled in a hurry with a fishing boat.
The Kuomintang "rewarded" Zhang Qingrong with a wife, but in fact it was a spy who monitored his every move
However, the Party Central Committee soon discovered his plan to flee, and in view of the military merits he had made before, our Party persuaded him to turn back to the shore and promised to make a warning after reforming himself, but Zhang Qingrong, who had been overwhelmed by the beautiful life woven by the Kuomintang, did not have any remorseful thoughts, and left the mainland without turning back and rushed to Kinmen.
Chiang Kai-shek, who received the news of Zhang Qingrong's defection, was very happy and specially sent someone to receive Zhang Qingrong to his Shilin official residence. Chiang Kai-shek personally toasted Zhang Qingrong at the wine table, promising to reward him with 5 million yuan. He was also awarded the rank of artillery colonel, and his salary and position were much higher than when he was on the mainland, and his rich material life made Zhang Qingrong extremely glad that he had made this decision.
Zhang Qingrong, who has always been single, married a beautiful Taiwanese woman with the help of Chiang Kai-shek and solved a major life event. In fact, this is just a "undercover" installed by Chiang Kai-shek at his side, responsible for monitoring his every move, and over time, he is also aware of it, but he has long since ignored these things, and only looks forward to the early start of the "new life". Soon after, in order to bid farewell to the past and welcome a new life, Zhang Qingrong even changed his name to "Zhang Chunsheng", which translates to the second spring of life.
This was the first high-ranking official to defect to Taiwan after the founding of New China; when Chiang Ching-kuo found out, he was worried that this was a ploy by the Communist Party, and once said to his father, Chiang Kai-shek: "Zhang Qingrong is in a high position, how can he easily defect?" Wouldn't it be a traitor sent by the Communist Party? ”
Naturally, Chiang Kai-shek, who was extremely deep in the city government, did not take it lightly, but since Zhang Qingrong had already come to Taiwan and accepted the reward, he should play a role.
At this point, Chiang Kai-shek began to use Zhang Qingrong's defection to publicize it. First, Zhang Qingrong's "happy life" in Taiwan was written into a report, published in magazines and newspapers, printed in quantities, and sold to the mainland region in an attempt to attract more mainland soldiers and civilians to Taiwan.
Zhang Qingrong "shows loyalty" to the Kuomintang
These acts have seriously affected the reputation and image of the Party Central Committee in Taiwan, and have increased obstacles to the future liberation of Taiwan, and the Party Central Committee is ready to start dealing with Zhang Qingrong. But then something happened that caused our Party to speed up the pursuit of the traitor Zhang Qingrong, and we must bring him to justice no matter what. Zhang Qingrong not only wantonly smeared the Communist Party at the behest of Chiang Kai-shek, but also, under the temptation of money, his interests were smoked, and he completely got rid of all the secrets of our party that he held.
At this time, Luo Ruiqing, who was then the minister of public security of the Party Central Committee, decided to use a counter-plan, only to immediately bring Zhang Qingrong to justice. At that time, the Ministry of Public Security had just arrested a spy from Taiwan, and the agent quickly surrendered.
Luo Ruiqing ordered him to compile a secret report, saying that Zhang Qingrong was an undercover agent sent by the Communist Party to Taiwan. The telegram was quickly sent to the Taiwan Military Department, and then reported to Chiang Kai-shek, who was furious after reading it and began to have the idea of getting rid of Zhang Qingrong.
Luo Ruiqing used the "anti-plot" to get rid of the traitor Zhang Qingrong
In addition, Zhang Qingrong later made himself clever and published an article in which he advocated cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party and took the road of peace. This incident completely angered Chiang Kai-shek, Chiang Kai-shek made a comeback and returned to the mainland, but Zhang Qingrong let himself be treated peacefully, and immediately ordered the arrest of Zhang Qingrong, and Chiang Kai-shek knew that he had long since lost his use value and would only covet pleasure, so he decided to execute Zhang Qingrong secretly.
Sadly, Zhang Qingrong's life of defection has only passed for one year, and his life has come to an abrupt end. Perhaps, this is the fate of the traitor, and it is also the end he deserves.