Wu Shi's granddaughter Wu Hong: "I am proud of my grandfather"

In 1949, when Wu Shi left the mainland to "lurk" in Taiwan, he left his eldest son Wu Shaocheng in Nanjing. After graduating from Nanjing University, Wu Shaocheng joined the Communist Party of China in 1965 and later became the chief economist of the Metallurgical Department of Henan Province, and died of illness in August 2015 at the age of 88. Wu Hong is the daughter of Wu Shaocheng and the granddaughter of Wu Shi, who is now retired and lives in Zhengzhou, Henan.

Reporter: Can you share some of general Wu Shi's unknown side?

Wu Hong: Grandpa especially cared for his children, especially to my father. During the war years, the boys in the family were not in good health from an early age. Later, I also experienced the escape, my father's brother died on the way to escape, and my father also suffered from typhoid fever and diphtheria, and it was difficult to survive. So since I was a child, my grandfather has taken special care of my father. My aunt told me that my father was the "baby of the family" at that time.

Reporter: Did you know your grandfather when you were a child? When did you realize that Grandpa was "unusual"?

Wu Hong: When I was a child, I was not deeply impressed with my grandfather, because my father basically did not want to mention his grandfather's affairs, and he was particularly sad when he mentioned it. In 1972, my father wrote a letter to the Central Committee on issues such as my grandfather's "composition". Later, Premier Zhou and Ye Shuai personally inquired about the matter. In 1973, the Henan Provincial Department of Civil Affairs issued a martyr's certificate to my family. In 1994, the ceremony to lay the ashes of my grandparents was held at the Futian Cemetery in Beijing, and before the ceremony, Luo Qingchang, former director of the Central Investigation Department, met with my father and aunt. Xie Xiaoyi, relatives at home, and some of his father's friends all attended the ceremony. At the ceremony, He Kang, former Minister of Agriculture, made a speech. Through Minister He's speech, I got to know more about Grandpa. Later, when the Fuzhou Party history scholar Zheng Li wrote "The Cold Moon Is Silent - The Biography of Wu Shi" was published, I had a systematic and comprehensive understanding of my grandfather.

Reporter: This year marks the 71st anniversary of General Wu Shi's inauguration. What is the significance of commemorating Wu Shi for people today, especially for young people?

Wu Hong: I admire Grandpa. He was brilliant, literate and knowledgeable, and he threw his head and blood at the expense of his personal safety for the liberation of the motherland. Before the liberation of 1949, many people advised him not to go to Taiwan, but he still went. He felt that he had done too little for the country, and he was loyal to the Communist Party. I'm proud of Grandpa. As my father wrote, my grandfather was "worthy of the Chinese nation, worthy of his hometown fathers and elders, and worthy of his ancestors." At present, the central authorities attach great importance to education in revolutionary traditions, and this year is another centenary of the founding of the party. At this special historical juncture, understanding and studying the deeds of revolutionary martyrs is of great importance to young people to cultivate feelings of loving the party and the country and socialism.

Reporter: Have you ever returned to Fuzhou? What places have you been to related to General Wu Shi?

Wu Hong: In 2019, at the invitation of Fuzhou Sanshan Humanities Memorial Park, I came to Fuzhou to participate in the inauguration ceremony of the bronze statues of Grandpa and Grandpa He Sui. The bronze statue was made in Beijing and transported to Fuzhou, and the ceremony scene on that day was grand, which made me feel the respect of the people of Fujian for Grandpa and Grandpa He Sui. I also went to Sanfang And Seven Alleys, where My grandfather lived briefly and where his old home is still there. After the locals knew that I was Wu Shi's granddaughter, they were very enthusiastic about me, which made me fully feel the admiration of the people in my hometown for my grandfather.

In 2013, a memorial square for the unknown hero was built in Beijing's Xishan Forest Park, and statues were erected for Grandpa, as well as Zhu Feng, Chen Baocang, Nie Xi and so on. Every year on Martyrs' Day, the descendants of our four families and other relatives of martyrs hold commemorative activities at the Memorial Square of the Unknown Heroes of the Communist Party of China in Taiwan to commemorate their great exploits in the struggle to establish the People's Republic against the enemy. I also hope that the younger generation will remember their stories, forge ahead, and shoulder the historical mission entrusted by the times! (Reporter Liu Shaoqing)

Source: Xinhua Daily Telegraph