In 1975, the People's Republic of China granted a special leniency to detained Kuomintang war criminals – an amnesty. This is the seventh amnesty for Kuomintang war criminals since the founding of the People's Republic of China, and the last so far. In view of the fact that most of these war criminals had been imprisoned for more than 25 years and were entering the later stages of their lives,** after careful consideration, it was decided to grant amnesty to all but a few war criminals. This move meant that even those Kuomintang war criminals who were stubborn in their thinking, had a hard-line attitude, and had long refused to be reformed, were given a chance to regain their freedom.
In this amnesty, there are three war criminals who are particularly high-profile, who have been called "die-hard war criminals" because of their intransigence. Next, let's learn about their stories one by one, their identities and how old they were at the time of the amnesty.
The first thing to mention is Huang Wei, a native of Guixi, Jiangxi Province, born in 1904, and an outstanding general in the first phase of the Huangpu Military Academy. In December 1948, in the Huaihai Campaign, Huang Wei, who was the commander of the 12th Corps, was wiped out and became a prisoner of war. Subsequently, he was sent to the War Criminals Management Center for rehabilitation. However, Huang Wei's performance has always been very negative, he is stubborn in his thinking, not only evades reform, but also sneers at the active performance of war criminals, and even studies the unrealistic "perpetual motion machine" in the war criminals management center.
Due to Huang Wei's stubbornness, he missed the amnesty many times. In contrast, Du Yuming (a native of Mizhi, Shaanxi, and a general of the first phase of Huangpu), who had been captured with him in the Battle of Huaihai, was granted amnesty as early as 1959. With the passage of time, Huang Wei's thinking gradually changed under the patient teaching of the staff. Huang Wei was finally freed in 1975 at the age of 71 and had been imprisoned for nearly 27 years as one of the last tranquilized war criminals. In 1989, Huang Wei died of illness in Beijing at the age of 85.
The second war criminal worth mentioning is Liu Zhenxiang, a native of Fangchenggang, Guangxi, born in 1906, and an outstanding general in the fifth phase of the Whampoa Military Academy. In November 1948, Liu Zhenxiang, who served as the commander of the 64th Army in the Huaihai Campaign, was captured and then sent to the War Criminals Management Center for reform. During the transformation, although Liu Zhenxiang was not as emotional as Huang Wei on the surface, he was still very unconvinced in his heart. Before being captured, he was still wearing a military coat and a medal ready to fight to the death;After being captured, his mind remained stubborn and became a thorn in the thorn in the prison for war criminals.
In the process of receiving reform, Liu Zhenxiang was extremely dissatisfied with the special treatment of Japanese war criminals who did not have to participate in labor, and even clashed with Japanese war criminals because of this, causing chaos in the war criminals management center. As a result of this negative performance, Liu Zhenxiang was also unable to obtain amnesty for a long time. It was not until 1975 that he was freed as one of the last tranquilized war criminals, at the age of 69, after nearly 27 years of detention. In 1986, Liu Zhenxiang died of illness in Guangxi at the age of 80.
The last thing to introduce is **, this native of Changsha, Hunan Province born in 1907 is an outstanding general in the fourth phase of the Whampoa Military Academy. In January 1949, in the Huaihai Campaign, he served as the deputy chief of staff of the lieutenant general of the Xuzhou General Advance Command, and was captured and sent to the war criminals management center for reform. During the transformation** behaved very stubbornly, which was closely related to his early experiences. He was a division commander of the Red Army and had a relationship with the leader, Zhou Gong was his introducer to join the party, and General Lin was his subordinate. Therefore, he refuses to repent and is tough.
* During the period of rehabilitation, he always shirked his responsibilities and believed that the reason why he took the wrong path and became a prisoner of war was the result of someone else's failure to educate him well. Because of this intransigence, ** was not released as one of the last amnesty for war criminals until 1975. At the age of 68, he had been imprisoned for 26 years. After gaining freedom, ** spent the rest of his life in the company of his family. In 2001, he died of illness in Beijing at the age of 94.
Looking back on the history of these three "die-hard war criminals", we can't help but feel full of emotion. They were granted amnesty later in life, which was undoubtedly a punishment for their long-term stubbornness. However, from another point of view, this is also the leniency of New China** to them, which reflects the spirit of humanitarianism. Their experiences also provide us with an opportunity to reflect on history and cherish peace.
List of high-quality authors