In 1948, the people's army led by the Communist Party was in full swing, good news was frequently reported, and the defeat of the Kuomintang army was decided. Chiang Kai-shek was already secretly preparing a reservation plan to retreat to Taiwan.
Also in November of that year, the headquarters of the Chinese People's Liberation Army issued the Order on the Punishment of War Criminals, which stipulates the regulations on the crimes of war criminals and the punishment methods for war criminals, and on December 25, the Xinhua News Agency published a list of 43 people, including Chiang Kai-shek and Li Zongren.
In fact, after the end of the civil war in 1949, although most of the Kuomintang war criminals led by Chiang Kai-shek absconded to Taiwan, many remnants of the Kuomintang were still captured on the mainland. After the founding of New China, a total of 977 war criminals were imprisoned nationwide, of which kuomintang war criminals accounted for the vast majority, with 926 people.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, these war criminals were held in war criminal management centers throughout the country. The more famous ones are the Beijing Gongdelin War Criminals Management Center and the Liaoning Fushun War Criminals Management Center. The government has also held meetings to discuss the question of how to deal with these war criminals, and Chairman Mao has personally instructed them on this, that is, one should not be killed.
The CCP basically adopted a very humanitarian policy towards these Kuomintang war criminals, and they enjoyed a lot of special treatment during their detention. And since 1956, the Chinese government has released these war criminals in batches.
In the decade from 1956 to 1966, the Chinese government released six groups of war criminals. The preparations for the release of the seventh batch coincided with a special period when the release of war criminals was delayed. It was not until 1975, after the domestic situation was basically stable, that Chairman Mao personally approved and decided to release the seventh batch of war criminals, and the last batch of Kuomintang war criminals in custody.
The protagonist of our story today, Zhang Tieshi, is one of the last war criminals to be released. The war criminal Zhang Tieshi finally ended up hanging himself in Hong Kong, leaving a suicide note: He felt desperate when he went to Taiwan.
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the CCP released Kuomintang war criminals, ten of whom voluntarily went to Taiwan</h1>
In the spring of 1975, at the suggestion of Premier Zhou Enlai of the State Council and with the personal instructions of Chairman Mao, it was decided to release the last batch of war criminals in custody, totaling 293.
According to Chairman Mao's instructions, after the release of these war criminals, everyone should be given citizenship rights, those who are able should arrange work as appropriate, those who are sick can receive medical treatment at public expense, and those who are willing to return to Taiwan should be given sufficient travel expenses and convenience. Go to Taiwan want to come back, feel free to welcome.
It can be said that the Chinese government's policy toward this group of war criminals is very lenient. Therefore, many people have chosen to stay on the mainland to reform themselves and contribute to the construction of new China. Of course, there are also some people who choose to go to Taiwan, not because they want to continue to follow the Kuomintang, but because their relatives are in Taiwan, and they are eager to reunite with their families.
In the end, 10 of the more than 200 war criminals chose to go to Taiwan to reunite with their relatives. Zhang Tieshi, former colonel of the Kuomintang 68th Military Political Work Office, was one of them. He was previously held at the Fushun War Criminals Management Center in Liaoning Province, and was 61 years old when he was released, and his mother, wife and son were in Taiwan.
The Chinese government quickly approved ten of their applications to go to Taiwan, provided them with travel expenses, and helped them order new clothes. Before leaving, they even set up a banquet in Beijing to practice, and Tong Xiaopeng, deputy director of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, personally went to the banquet to send them off.
On April 14, a group of ten people left Beijing and took a train from Guangzhou to Shenzhen, arriving in Hong Kong on the same day.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the Taiwan authorities reacted coldly, and the day of return to Taiwan was far away</h1>
After Zhang Tieshi and the ten of them came to Hong Kong, they were arranged to stay in a hotel in Hong Kong. They thought it would be a short stay in Hong Kong. When the Taiwan authorities receive their application to return to Taiwan, they will certainly send someone to pick them up immediately.
But they were wrong, and they could not have imagined that their wish to return to Taiwan would be so difficult to achieve. These people were all former Officers and Generals of the Kuomintang and had made great contributions to the Kuomintang. After the defeat in the civil war, they were also captured as war criminals because they were unwilling to surrender and insisted on stubbornly resisting the People's Liberation Army.
In Zhang Tieshi's hearts, they felt that they were loyal and deserved the favor of the Taiwan authorities. However, contrary to their wishes, the Taiwan authorities did not pay special attention to the ten war criminals who were pardoned by the mainland.
In fact, just when they were pardoned, a major event suddenly occurred in Taiwan, that is, Chiang Kai-shek died of illness. Therefore, when they arrived in Hong Kong and submitted an application to the Taiwan authorities to return to Taiwan, the Taiwan side was busy handling Chiang Kai-shek's funeral, and they were unwilling to accept all the people from the mainland at this time.
Zhang Tieshi and they waited aimlessly in the hotel. Seeing that the date of the visa is approaching, there is still no news from Taiwan. However, the Hong Kong media, which has always been a good fancier, have shown great interest in these ten Kuomintang war criminals who have been pardoned by the mainland.
Two days later, Zhang Tieshi saw a news item in Hong Kong's Sing Tao Daily through which the Kuomintang government expressed its views on the ten amnesty war criminals who had stayed in Hong Kong, which roughly meant that the Kuomintang government did not attach importance to these ten war criminals and would not open up a special channel for them to return to Taiwan. If you want to return to Taiwan, you must go through due process.
Zhang Tieshi After they saw this news, their hearts were extremely sad. They think that they once shed their blood for the Kuomintang, and they think of their nearly 20 years in prison, but now they have such a cold attitude of the Kuomintang government. This is in stark contrast to the scene where they attended the practice dinner in Beijing, and their happiness and harmony were harmonious.
For the first time, Zhang Tieshi felt what the world was, and he just wanted to go back to Taiwan to reunite with his relatives. Since his capture in 1948, he has been separated from his family for twenty years. He could hardly remember what his son looked like, and he didn't know if his nearly 90-year-old mother was alive or not. Such a simple and simple wish is now difficult to achieve.
In the hotel room, Zhang Tieshi was extremely angry, he paced back and forth, but there was nothing he could do.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the KUOMINTang demanded anti-communist remarks, otherwise it was considered a CCP spy</h1>
There was more than one piece of bad news, and while they were anxiously waiting, another piece of news from the Taiwan authorities reached their ears. This time was a press release from President Yan Jiagan of the Taiwan authorities in a dialogue with the Taiwan media.
In the conversation, Yan Jiagan mentioned that when the Kuomintang withdrew from the mainland and defeated Taiwan in 1949, many Kuomintang officers and cadres remained on the mainland, and most of them were executed or imprisoned. Therefore, he believes that this time Zhang Tieshi and the ten of them were pardoned and allowed to go to Taiwan, which must be a hidden conspiracy.
Yan Jiagan
Yan Jiagan concluded: "Taiwan does not welcome united front tools and spies. For the sake of safety, full consideration will be given to whether or not to admit these ten people, and appropriate defensive measures will be taken if necessary. ”
Originally, it was already a blow to let them go to Taiwan through the proper channels, and yan Jiagan's speech this time made them feel even more disappointed. How can we be thought of as spies? Zhang Tieshi couldn't figure it out anyway. A few old people didn't know how to be good for a while.
Arriving in Hong Kong on April 14, Zhang Tieshi and his party of ten have been stranded in Hong Kong for seven days. There is still no progress in the matter of returning to Taiwan. The visa here in Hong Kong also expired, and the mainland immediately sent someone to help them with the 10-day renewal procedure after learning about the situation.
On the one hand, there was the Kuomintang, which had a blunt attitude and set limits everywhere, and on the other hand, the Communist Party, which was friendly and friendly and cared for. Zhang Tieshi and the others began to wonder if their original choice was wrong. However, the wood has become a boat and can only go up against the current. What's more, the purpose of their visit to Taiwan is to reunite with their relatives.
In order to be able to meet their relatives who they have been thinking about day and night, they decided to issue their own application to the Taiwan side again, hoping to impress the Taiwan authorities with their sincerity and exchange for the opportunity to go to Taiwan.
A few days later, Zhang Tieshi and others once again received news from Taiwan through newspapers that if they wanted to return to Taiwan, they must publicly publish anti-communist remarks through the Hong Kong media. Otherwise, the Taiwan authorities will not accept them.
They are very shocked and incredulous that the Taiwan authorities should make such absurd and childish demands on them.
Thinking about the more than two decades that they have been imprisoned on the mainland, the Chinese Communist Party can be said to have been very kind to them, and after the amnesty, it has adopted a lenient policy toward them. Zhang Tieshi and the ten of them proposed to return to Taiwan, and the Chinese Communist government not only immediately agreed, but also sent travel expenses and held a banquet. During their stay in Hong Kong, they also benefited from the care of the mainland government.
Now the Kuomintang has asked them to make anti-communist remarks, and ten people, including Zhang Tieshi, have said that this demand is very excessive, and they really have no hostility to the CCP, but are more grateful. Having just been favored by others, and now immediately making statements of opposition, they cannot do it in any way.
Ten men deliberately decided not to make any anti-communist remarks. It was from this period that strange reporters began to appear frequently in the hotel where they stayed. These people are all people sent by Taiwan to spy on them and investigate them.
One day, a depressed and anxious Zhang Tieshi suddenly encountered two people who claimed to be journalists, and after inviting him to the room, the two said:
"They can conduct an interview with Zhang Tieshi, and as long as Zhang Tieshi reveals some anti-communist ideas in the interview, tomorrow they can publish it in the newspaper, and then the matter of returning to Taiwan will come to fruition."
Zhang Tieshi knew that this was a person from the Kuomintang, and although he was eager to return to Taiwan, he still bluntly refused the interview request and told them that he could not make anti-communist remarks.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Zhang Tieshi felt hopeless to return to Taiwan and left a suicide note to hang himself in Hong Kong</h1>
A few days later, Zhang Tieshi ushered in a new hope, and his son, who had been absent for more than twenty years, was so anxious after learning the news of his father's application to return to Taiwan in Taiwan, he secretly came to Hong Kong to help his father return to Taiwan.
Zhang Tieshi's son, zhang runpei, was a captain at a civil airport in Taiwan, and after more than twenty years of separation, father and son met each other, and the two hugged each other tightly, and Zhang Tieshi lost his voice and cried bitterly.
His son, Zhang Runpei, told Zhang Tieshi that he had already thought of two plans for him to return to Taiwan.
The first is to return to Taiwan through proper channels, and he has already contacted a Kuomintang personnel stationed in Hong Kong, who will fully assist Zhang Tieshi in handling the matter of returning to Taiwan. The second is to return to Taiwan through smuggling. Zhang Runpei has also contacted the underworld snakehead and can be smuggled directly from the sea to Kaohsiung.
After deliberating, the two decided to use the first plan and return to Taiwan through proper procedures. Otherwise, even if he returned to Taiwan, he would be hunted down by the Kuomintang. And if it is through the right way, the first thing is to change the hotel.
Because the hotel was arranged by the Communists, the Kuomintang feared that someone was spying on them. Therefore, I hope that Zhang Tieshi will change to a hotel to facilitate contact with Kuomintang personnel.
After the explanation, Zhang Runpei went back. At this time, Zhang Tieshi was full of expectations in his heart, and he felt that the day of returning to Taiwan was just around the corner. The next day he renewed his visa, his fourth extension. After completing the formalities, Zhang Tieshi left the hotel and checked in at another hotel on Maithon Road in Kowloon.
What happened in the next few days became the fatal straw that crushed Zhang Tieshi. After the son returns to Taiwan, according to the plan discussed before, someone should arrange for him to go through the formalities of entering Taiwan through proper channels.
However, the person who confessed when the son left did not adopt the first plan for some reason, but directly contacted the local snakehead and planned to send Zhang Tieshi to Taiwan by smuggling.
Zhang Tieshi could not contact his son, and he was not familiar with hong Kong, although he did not approve of the plan of smuggling back to Taiwan, but he also felt that the legitimate way seemed to be far away, so he also cooperated with the plan of smuggling back to Taiwan.
When everything was ready, the snakehead informed Zhang Tieshi to go to fisherman's wharf on The West Coast of Hong Kong at 9 p.m. on May 23, when a boat would take him out to sea. For some unknown reason, Zhang Tieshi actually diarized the date of May 23 to June 3. So that night when the fishing boat was about to sail, Zhang Tieshi was still sleeping on the bed in the hotel.
In this way, the smuggling program that had been planned for a long time and cost a lot of time and money failed. Zhang Tieshi felt bored to the extreme. Xu Heng, the owner of the hotel, asked Zhang Tieshi to drink, and Zhang Tieshi was sad and had nowhere to release, so he gladly agreed.
Unexpectedly, the boss actually forced Zhang Tieshi to write a letter of repentance after drinking, and claimed that as long as he signed, he would be able to return to Taiwan in two days.
Zhang Tieshi read the so-called confessional letter in Xu Heng's hand, and the whole article was full of anti-communist remarks. Zhang tore up the confession in anger and claimed that he would not make anti-communist remarks at any time.
Stranded in Hong Kong for more than a month, he experienced the dashing of hope again and again. Zhang Tieshi felt despair from the depths of his heart, and he wrote a suicide note to relatives and friends in Taiwan in the hotel. On June 4, when the hotel attendant cleaned his room, he found that he had already hanged himself on the water pipe in the shower room.
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the remaining nine people returned to Taiwan road is still tortuous, some people settled in Hong Kong and some people returned to the mainland</h1>
The news of Zhang Tieshi's suicide in the Hong Kong hotel was quickly reported by major newspapers and periodicals. Public opinion generally believes that Zhang Tieshi's death is related to the attitude of the Taiwan authorities toward prisoners of war, and the Kuomintang bears unshirkable responsibility for this.
It was thought that after the lessons of this zhang tieshi suicide incident, the Taiwan side should speed up the procedures for the entry of the remaining nine war criminals into Taiwan. However, instead of accepting the lesson, the Taiwan authorities continued to adopt a negative attitude toward the remaining nine people.
Chen Shizhang
In August, they saw no hope of returning to Taiwan, and they had no choice but to go their separate ways. Chen Shizhang, former lieutenant general of the Kuomintang 25th Army, and Duan Kewen, former commissioner of the Kuomintang Military Command Bureau, chose to fly to the United States to settle down. Immediately after that, Wang Bingyu and Zhou Yanghao also had no hope of returning to Taiwan and flew to the United States one after another.
Chiang Ching-kuo's right-hand man, Tsai Shengsan, was unable to return to Taiwan after applying for eight visa extensions, and was forced to stay in Hong Kong and become a permanent resident of Hong Kong.
Of the remaining four, one died of illness in Hong Kong the following year, and the other three eventually chose to return to the mainland to settle down.
Cai Province THREE
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > concluding remarks:</h1>
Let's take another look at the fate of the three war criminals who chose to return to the mainland of their motherland, when they arrived in Beijing, our government still sent people to receive them, and after learning of their idea of settling on the mainland, the government expressed its willingness to make arrangements.
Zhang Haishang, former colonel of the 204th Division of the Kuomintang Youth Army, was placed in Wuhan as a member of the Hubei Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Zhao Yixue went to Shanghai and served as a member of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Yang Nancun went to Chengdu to serve as a member of the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
At this point, the story of the 10 amnesty war criminals who voluntarily returned to Taiwan in 1975, including Zhang Tieshi, is over. I believe that everyone can already feel the magnanimity and benevolence of the Communist Party and the suspiciousness of the Kuomintang through the words. The fact that the Kuomintang has fallen to where it is today is not unrelated to the mindset and conduct of its leaders.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > references:</h1>
YAN Chen. Fushun War Criminals Management Institute[D].Liaoning University, 2020.
LIU Jiangying. Ideological and Political Reform of Kuomintang War Criminals in Custody and Its Empirical Research[D].Northwest Normal University, 2020.
Yan Zhenmin. Cai Shengsan: Kuomintang war criminals who recite the Communist Manifesto backwards[J].Lantai World, 2013(34):72-73.
Dou Yingtai. The tragedy of released war criminal Zhang Tieshi hanging himself in Hong Kong[J].Advancing together in the same boat, 2010(01):54-58.