Qin Jiwei

Qin Jiwei was a general of the People's Republic of China, Minister of National Defense and a member of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo.

Qin Jiwei was born to a poor peasant family in Huang'an , Hubei Province of China in November 1914.

Combat

Qin joined a Hebei guerrilla band after the failed Autumn Harvest Uprisings, and spent his earliest years in the military under the leadership of Xu Haidong and Xu Xiangqian, and along side future generals Chen Zaidao and Xu Shiyou. After a series of setbacks, the unit Qin served in was redesignated the 31st Division, Red 11th Corps.

The Fourth Front Army participated in the Long March as a separate unit from the main force under Zhou Enlai and Mao Zedong. At the close of the Long March, Xu Xiangqian’s Right Column were shattered by Muslim cavalry in a battle that might have turned out differently had Mao Zedong not abandon Fourth Front Army commander Zhang Guotao. One story has Qin and future general secretary Hu Yaobang captured in the battle and held prisoner for a year or so before finding an opportunity to escape.

In 1939, Qin was commander of the 1st Military Sub-District of the Jinjiyu Military Region and at the end of the Sino-Japanese War, Chief-of-Staff of the Taihang Military District. His units were organized into the 9th Column in 1947, and later combined with Chen Geng’s 4th Column into the 4th Army of the 2nd Field Army. In 1949, Qin commanded the 4th’s 15th Corps, which he led into Korea.

Domestic Assignments

In the 1954 reorganization that established 13 Military Regions, Xie Fuzhi was given command of the Kunming MR and Qin was made deputy commander. He was awarded the rank of Lt. General in 1955 and eventually, he became a member of the National Defense Council , and commander of the Kunming and Sichuan Military Regions. In 1975, he was named political commissar of the Beijing MR, and in 1980-87 was its commander. In the latter post, Qin took over from two of the so-called ‘Small Gang of Four’, commander Chen Xilian and political commissar Ji Dengkui.

Qin was a member of the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th Central Committees. In 1977, he was named to the party Military Affairs Committee and a decade later, as one of only two military officers named to the politburo . In September 1988, Qin was promoted to full general and made Defense Minister, until 1990. In 1989, he is said to have hesitated to use force to disperse protesters in Tiananmen Square. At his death in February 1997, his only official post was Vice Chairman of the National People’s Congress.