Commander Su, the founding general, was wrongly convicted of "individualism" in 1958 and was not fully rehabilitated until 1994, the tenth year after his death, during which he experienced 36 years of grievances. In the first half of the general's rehabilitation work, there were three people who made the most efforts: Commander Su's wife, Chu Qing, Lieutenant General Wang Bicheng, a subordinate of the Concubine Clan, and Lieutenant General Zhang Zhen, former chief of staff of Sanye. Before Commander Su's death, they made many applications to rehabilitate the general, but these efforts did not bear fruit before Commander Su's death.
In 1992, General Zhang Zhen was elected vice chairman of the Central Military Commission because of his outstanding qualifications and ability. At that time, there were only two vice-chairmen, and Zhang Zhen's power was already very impressive, and with his strength, he had the opportunity to help Commander Su rehabilitate. Because of this, many people believe that General Zhang Zhen's credit for this matter is the greatest. In December 1994, in the People's Daily and The People's Liberation Army Daily, the organization successfully restored the reputation of Commander Su. Zhang Zhen's credit is certainly not small, but in fact, the biggest role behind the scenes is really not this old general.
When General Zhang Zhen became vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, there was also a general Liu Huaqing who also served as vice chairman, a total of two vice chairmen, and at least the chairman of the Central Military Commission. Obviously, although Zhang Zhen's right to speak is not low, it is not particularly grasped to ensure that decades of unjust cases are rehabilitated. In this case, another key figure who supported Commander Su came out.
This behind-the-scenes hero is Mr. Wang Daohan. Mention the name Wang Daohan, some friends are not familiar with it. His popularity is indeed not as high as that of some founding generals, and even in the heyday of his military and political career, he did not belong to the core leadership of the central government. But in the 1980s and 1990s, his ability to influence the army exceeded that of most founding generals and could reach the chairman of the Central Military Commission.
A native of Anhui, Wang Daohan worked in the people's army in his early years, engaged in financial and industrial management in the government for most of the time after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and became the mayor of Shanghai in the early 1980s, and later the secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee. In the development process of Shanghai after the reform and opening up, Wang Daohan has made important contributions. Such an old cadre who was both military and political leaders had great influence later during the transition of the central leadership: because the core leaders of the new generation of leadership collectives worked in Shanghai. Wang Daohan was his predecessor and teacher at that time, and the relationship between the two was very close and harmonious.
Later, the chief concurrently served as chairman of the Central Military Commission, and he always had great respect for Elder Wang's opinions and opinions. Therefore, Wang Daohan's ability to influence the decision-making of the Central Military Commission is even more critical than that of Vice Chairman Zhang Zhen. In the final rehabilitation of Commander Su, it was Wang Daohan who played a decisive role, and his opinions were considered and adopted by the central authorities, and with the efforts of Vice Chairman Zhang Zhen, Commander Su's rehabilitation work was unimpeded, and it was publicly published in the two major newspapers and restored his reputation.
Then again, why did Wang Daohan so enthusiastically help the "God of War" Commander Su rehabilitate him? Combing through the historical context is very clear. During the war years, although Wang Daohan was young, because of his outstanding cultural quality and strong organizational ability, he served as the military industry director of the East China Field Army, and the East China Field Army was one of the main field units of our army during the Liberation War, and the military commander in charge of the operation was Commander Su. The Minister of Military Industry is a middle-level cadre of Huaye and provides important support for front-line operations, so wang Daohan and Commander Su have a lot of communication and exchanges, and are under the direct leadership of Commander Su.
Like most cadres from Sanye, Wang Daohan greatly admired Commander Su's command ability and contributions, and was well aware of the wrong sentence that Commander Su was sentenced to in 1958. Like Wang Bicheng and other generals, he hoped to help his old boss rehabilitate as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Wang Daohan's qualifications were relatively shallow at that time, and he was basically unable to speak in the 1950s and 1960s. Until his death in 1984, Commander Su was not successfully rehabilitated. However, by the 1980s and 1990s, Wang Daohan was already a respected elder of the old revolutionary, and with the specific relationship described above, he had both the will and ability to help Commander Su restore his reputation, so he played a key role behind the scenes.
It is worth mentioning that Elder Wang was a cadre in the army during the war years, and in peacetime he became an important member of the government with outstanding achievements; in his later years, he gradually faded out of political circles and became the president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, campaigning for the reunification of the motherland. Such a predecessor who has made outstanding contributions in various fields really deserves respect. In 2005, wang lao, 90 years old, died of illness in Shanghai.