In 1946, a mysterious disappearance of Dai Li, the leader of the Kuomintang army, shook the entire political scene. Dai Li was not only a close comrade-in-arms of Chiang Kai-shek, but also the "eyes" of the Kuomintang. On that day, the No. 222 plane on which Dai Li was flying suddenly disappeared, and there has been no news since then. Is it a real death, or is it a well-planned "death fraud"?
In 1946, shortly after World War II, a shocking event occurred in Chinese politics. Dai Li, director of the Kuomintang Bureau of Military Statistics, a crucial figure for Chiang Kai-shek's regime, suddenly disappeared like a bombshell. Dai Li was Chiang Kai-shek's right-hand man, and he was also his "trump card" in the intelligence war. His disappearance not only caused Chiang Kai-shek to be anxious, but also caused countless speculations and rumors.
It happened on a spring morning. Dai Li was flying on a US-aided DC-47 No. 222 military transport plane destined for Qingdao. He was scheduled to make a brief stop there before heading to Shanghai and Nanjing to attend to a series of important matters. Dai Li's itinerary is full, and every stop is very important. Fate seems to have played a big joke on him.
On that day, the weather in Qingdao was unusually bad, with thick fog and light rain enveloping the whole city in a haze. Despite the dissuasion of airport staff and local officials, Dai decided to go ahead with the original plan, confident in the performance of the American-made aircraft. The worst-case scenario, he thought, would be to fly to Shanghai to see if the weather was bad and then turn directly to Nanjing. So, the plane was refueled and ready for any contingencies.
When the plane arrived over Shanghai, adverse weather conditions made landing impossible. Dai Li decided to change his plans and fly directly to Nanjing. But no one expected that the weather in Nanjing would also change its face in an instant, with thunderstorms and extremely low visibility. After repeated refusals, Nanjing Airport reluctantly allowed the plane to attempt to land. Just after the Nanjing side made contact with the No. 222 plane for the last time, the plane carrying Dai Li seemed to disappear into the thin sky, and there was no more news.
When the news reached the Kuomintang, the entire organization was shocked. Chiang Kai-shek hurriedly sent personnel to search everywhere, but after anxiously waiting and searching all night, nothing could be found. Soon, rumors about Dai Li's possible "fraudulent death" began to circulate in the top echelons of the military and government. After all, as an old fox in the intelligence community, Dai Li's skills and abilities are recognized as superb, and it is not impossible for him to make up a perfect "missing script". And, if it was really a fraud death, what was his purpose? Is it to escape the internal power struggle, or is there something deeper about it?
Various conspiracy theories about Dai Li's disappearance have also been widely circulated among the people. Some people say that Dai Li was jointly eliminated by hostile forces at home and abroad because he had too many sensitive secrets; Others believe that this was part of Chiang Kai-shek's purge of internal dissent, after all, in the post-war political reorganization, the position of each chess piece was very important. However, these claims lack conclusive evidence and can only be used as after-dinner conversations.
As time passed, Dai Li's disappearance became more and more mysterious. Just when everyone thought it would be a forever unsolved mystery, a declassified document from the United States opened a new page. Documents show that on the day of Dai Li's disappearance, a listening post in the United States had captured a vague communication signal with keywords such as "emergency landing" and "safety." Does this mean that Dai Li tried an emergency landing after encountering an accident? Is he really safe?
There has been a heated debate among experts and historians about the authenticity and meaning of this signal. Some people believe that this is the survival instinct of Dai Li and his entourage at the most critical moment, while others believe that it may be a false signal deliberately released by hostile forces in order to confuse Chiang Kai-shek.
Another angle that should not be ignored is that Dai Li's disappearance may have been related to the international situation at the time. After World War II, the restructuring of the world made it necessary for each country to reorient its role and strategy in the international arena. As an important figure in China's intelligence system, Dai Li's every move could affect the delicate balance between the international community. Perhaps, his "disappearance" was part of some kind of larger-scale strategic plan.
There is also a theory that Dai Li, for the benefit of the country, may have secretly traveled to the Soviet Union or the United States to engage in a deeper intelligence exchange with these powers. This may sound like a fiction plot, but it doesn't seem entirely impossible in an era when everyone was playing tricks.
Dai Li's disappearance remains a historical mystery to this day. Whether he encountered an accident or really carried out an elaborate "death", his story deeply reflects the complexity and cruelty of that era.