Liu Xinghan

Liu Xinghan (Chinese: 刘星汉; October 1, 1923 – July 2, 2003) was a Chinese politician and intelligence official. A native of Suide, Shaanxi, he joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1941 and later served as vice chairperson of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Liu was born on October 1, 1923, in a poor peasant family in Suide County, Shaanxi. In his youth, he developed a strong concern for national affairs and pursued progressive ideas. While studying at the Shaanxi Provincial Suide Normal School, he visited Yan'an and listened to speeches by Mao Zedong and Zhu De, which deeply influenced his political outlook and strengthened his conviction in the CCP. He subsequently participated in underground Party activities and formally joined the CCP in May 1941.^[1]

After graduating in 1942, during the most difficult phase of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Liu worked as a teacher in affiliated primary schools while actively engaging in revolutionary activities under Party leadership. He organized youth delegations to visit anti-Japanese base areas in northwest China and later took on roles in intelligence and security work. Between 1943 and 1945, he served in various positions in the Suide region of the Shaan-Gan-Ning Border Region, including as a recorder, interrogator, and intelligence group leader, contributing to intelligence operations in Japanese-occupied areas.^[2]

During the Chinese Civil War, Liu held a series of posts in public security and intelligence organs in northern Shaanxi, including positions in Wu County and Yulin. He later served as deputy director and director of the Yulin Public Security Bureau, where he was known for his strict adherence to Party policies and effectiveness in maintaining social stability in base areas.^[3]

After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Liu worked in central and regional intelligence and liaison departments, including the Northwest Liaison Office of the Central Military Commission. He served in Qinghai and Tibet, where he implemented ethnic policies and contributed to early administrative and political work in the region under difficult environmental conditions. For his contributions, he was awarded a Liberation Medal by the Tibet Military Region.^[4]

From the mid-1950s, Liu worked in the Central Investigation Department and later in Party schools and cadre training institutions in Beijing, where he was involved in political education and cadre management. During the Cultural Revolution, he suffered political persecution but maintained his commitment to Party principles.^[5]

Liu resumed work in 1973 and subsequently held leadership positions in Guangdong and Jiangsu, including director-level posts in investigation departments, head of the United Front Work Department of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee, and director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of Jiangsu. He was later elected vice chairperson of the fifth and sixth Jiangsu Provincial Committees of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. In these roles, he contributed to the implementation of reform policies, the rehabilitation of wrongfully persecuted individuals, and the development of united front work and cross-strait relations.^[6]

Liu died on July 2, 2003, in Nanjing at the age of 79.