Former Commanders of the New Fourth Army - Political Commissar Rao Shushi (4)

Former site of the Shanghai Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

After the defeat of the Great Revolution, the Party organizations in the northeast suffered severe damage. After the 1987 emergency meeting, the CPC Central Committee sent Chen Weiren to the northeast to form the CPC Manchuria Provincial Committee. In October 1927, the Provisional Provincial Committee was established; in April 1928, the second Provisional Provincial Committee was formed; and in September, at the Third All-Manchurian Party Congress, it was officially changed to the Manchurian Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China. These three provincial party committees have done a lot of work in the northeast, but due to the dangerous environment and the shortcomings and errors in the guiding ideology of the provincial party committee, the three provincial party committees have been damaged by the reactionary authorities. As a result of the great destruction of the leading organs and the emergence of serious negative emotions within the Party, the Party's work and the mass movement were almost paralyzed. In April 1929, Xie Jueya, a central commissioner who was touring the northeast, wrote a work report to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, pointing out that "the Manchurian Party needs a capable leader." Soon, the Manchurian Provincial Party Committee also wrote a letter to the Central Committee, asking the Central Committee to "select talents with leadership ability" to take up leading positions in the Manchurian Provincial Party Committee. In early June, the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee decided to appoint Liu Shaoqi, who has extensive experience in struggle, as secretary of the Manchurian Provincial CPC Committee. At this time, Rao Shushi went to the northeast to serve as the secretary of the Manchurian Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League. On the afternoon of August 22, Liu Shaoqi, accompanied by Meng Jian, a cadre of the provincial party committee, was arrested when he went to the Fengtian Spinning Factory to learn about and guide the strike work. After Liu Shaoqi was arrested, with the help of Chen Tanqiu, a special commissioner of the CPC Central Committee, the Manchurian Provincial Committee of the CPC formed a provisional standing committee composed of Three people, Li Yishan, Ren Guozhen, and Rao Shushi, to preside over the daily work. The Provisional Standing Committee decided to rescue Liu Shaoqi and Meng Jian from prison as soon as possible, and at the same time reported their arrest to the central authorities. The central authorities instructed the Manchurian provincial party committee to "rescue Liu Shaoqi and Meng Jian with all their might." Under the all-out rescue of the Provisional Standing Committee and the courageous struggle of Liu Shaoqi and Meng Jian, the case of Liu Shaoqi and Meng Jian "setting off a tide of work" was finally judged to be "insufficient evidence, no prosecution, release on bail." After his release from prison, Liu Shaoqi presided over the meeting and decided to restore the provincial party committee and decided to rao Shushi to participate in the provincial party committee. After the decision was reported to the CPC Central Committee, the Central Committee quickly replied: "Since the provincial party committee has been restored, the provisional committee has been abolished." ”

In mid-April 1930, Rao Shushi and others sent Zhao Shangzhi, a provincial committee of the Manchurian Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, to the Liaoning Anti-Imperialist Grand Alliance to organize the Anti-Imperialist Grand Alliance to conduct anti-imperialist patriotic propaganda at the Diplomatic Knowledge Speech Conference held by the Fengtian National Foreign Affairs Association. At the meeting, Zhao Shangzhi and Du Lanting and Chen Shangzhe, secretaries of the anti-imperialist Grand Alliance party group, were arrested; Durantin betrayed Rao Shushi and other provincial party leaders; the Manchurian provincial party committee of the CPC was destroyed; and More than 30 members of the party group and revolutionary masses such as Rao Shushi were arrested. Among them, Rao Shushi was designated as a "key criminal of the Communist Party", and during the preliminary trial of the gendarmerie investigation department, he was one of the most arrested people, and was internally identified as one of the 7 executors with Zhao Shangzhi and Ding Junyang. Fortunately, the wife of Ding Junyang, the head of the organization department of the Manchurian Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, who was arrested, interceded with Zhang Xueliang and others through connections, and Zhang Xueliang decided to change Rao Shushi and others from gun executioners to guards, and Rao Shushi and 7 others escaped death. After that, Rao Shushi and others were transferred to Shenyang No. 1 Prison. Under the leadership and influence of Rao Shushi, Zhao Shangzhi, and others, the arrested comrades encouraged each other and encouraged each other, and none of them bowed to the enemy and stubbornly struggled against the enemy. By early June, after interrogation, some people were released one after another, and finally 19 so-called important criminals, such as Rao Shushi and Zhao Shangzhi, were left to be strictly tried by the Military Justice Department of the Northeast Border Defense Commander's Office. Rao Shushi and others were interrogated many times, beaten severely, and endured the torment of disease, always clenching their teeth and preferring to die. After contacting the Manchurian Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, a party group was set up in prison to organize the "Five-Member Officers' Association," and Rao Shushi served as the head of the Officers' Committee to organize and lead the comrades in prison to carry out the struggle. Rescued by the party organization through various relations, Rao Shushi and 19 other comrades were released at the end of December 1931. After his release from prison, Rao Shushi went to the Soviet Union and went to the United States and other countries to engage in secret party work.

In the spring of 1932, Rao Shushi was recalled to China to engage in and lead the national trade union work in Shanghai, and successively served as the secretary of the party group of the Shanghai Federation of Trade Unions, the secretary general of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, and the secretary of the party group of the Shanghai Executive Bureau of the ACFTU. During this period, the "Left" adventurism represented by Wang Ming gained a dominant position in the Party Central Committee, and a series of "Left" resolutions were made, demanding that in Shanghai and other places "as much as possible we can prepare for the general strike of various enterprises" and refusing to use legal forms to organize the workers' struggle. Rao Shushi and other leaders advocate the use of open and legal means as much as possible in mass work, so that the party's secret organizations can gather and strengthen their forces in such mass work for a long time. However, their correct opinions were not accepted, but they were unjustifiably accused of committing "opportunistic line errors" and their leadership positions were removed.

In early 1933, the Provisional Central Committee of the Communist Party of China moved into the Central Soviet Region, established the Shanghai Bureau, and reappointed Rao Shushi as the secretary of the Party Group of the Executive Bureau, leading the work of the Kuomintang region in a unified manner, and was responsible for contact with the Comintern. Between March 1934 and February 1935, the Shanghai Central Bureau suffered six major sabotages and was forced to cease all activities in July 1935. In 1934, due to traitors informing, Kuomintang agents surrounded Rao Shushi's residence in Shanghai, because Rao Shushi did not return to the air, but still ambushed him at his house. When Rao Shushi returned home, he found that the situation was different and quickly got out of danger. The agent did not catch Rao Shushi, so he took his wife Song Mou away. Song was the sister of Peng Zhen's ex-wife, and Rao Shushi married him during the labor movement in North China, and when Rao Shushi returned to Shanghai in 1932, Song followed him to Shanghai to work. Song left the party after his arrest this time, and also ended the marriage relationship between the two.