Former Site of the General Headquarters of the Shanghai People’s Security Corps

Former Site of the General Headquarters of the Shanghai People’s Security Corps

The Former Site of the General Headquarters of the Shanghai People’s Security Corps is a Shanghai Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit and a patriotic education base.

Address: Inside Shanghai Customs, 13 Zhongshan East 1st Road, Huangpu District, Postal Code: 200002, Phone: 021-63297330, Fax: 021-63230127, Opening Hours: All day, Public Transport: Buses 20, 22, 42, 49, 55

The People’s Security Corps was an armed self-defense organization primarily made up of workers during the liberation struggle. On the eve of the liberation of Shanghai, it successfully completed the tasks of eliminating enemy forces and defending the city. The headquarters of the “People’s Security Corps” just before the liberation of Shanghai was located in three offices on the fourth floor of the Jiang Customs Building (now Shanghai Customs). Shanghai Customs has erected a bronze commemorative relief there.

The Shanghai People’s Security Corps was an armed self-defense organization led by the Communist Party of China Shanghai Committee before the liberation of Shanghai, composed mainly of workers. In mid-April 1949, to support the People’s Liberation Army and liberate Shanghai from within and without, the CPC Shanghai Committee decided to resume the activities of the “Shanghai People’s Organizations Federation” from the early post-victory period of the War of Resistance, and to centralize the leadership and unified command of various scattered and differently named vigilance squads, factory protection squads, and others. It was publicly named the “Shanghai People’s Security Corps,” and was led within the Party by Liu Changsheng, Zhang Chengzong, Zhang Qi, and others. The corps was organized by factories, enterprises, schools, and districts, with the entire city divided into six district squads—East Shanghai, South Shanghai, West Shanghai, North Shanghai, Central Shanghai, and Pudong—according to the party committees. There were over 60,000 members in total.

On May 1, the headquarters of the People’s Security Corps issued the “Notice to Members of the People’s Security Corps,” which stipulated that the corps’ tasks were to: protect factories, schools, government offices, warehouses, and public spaces from destruction by the Kuomintang; serve as guides for the People’s Liberation Army; assist in maintaining local order; monitor war criminals; undermine enemy forces and seize their weapons. Every member had to abide by the Three Main Rules of Discipline and the Eight Points for Attention. In early May, the headquarters also urgently printed cloth armbands with white fabric and red characters for the People’s Security Corps, distributed them to each district for safekeeping, and reported the corps’ designation and armband design to the Central Committee, notifying all participating PLA units by telegram. The CPC Shanghai Committee also decided that the General Headquarters of the People’s Security Corps would consist of Shen Han, Sun Youyu, and Liu Feng, with Shen Han serving as the Commander-in-Chief.

On May 24, the People’s Liberation Army launched a general offensive on downtown Shanghai. The People’s Security Corps quickly assembled its members, who donned their armbands and mobilized en masse to protect factories and schools, guide the PLA, and welcome them into the urban areas. In the early hours of May 25, the PLA liberated all districts south of the Suzhou River. The General Headquarters of the People’s Security Corps immediately moved into the Customs Building and set up open offices in Rooms 401, 412, and 413, assisting the PLA in carrying out various tasks. On May 27, Shanghai was fully liberated, and members of the People’s Security Corps patrolled the streets together with PLA soldiers, guarding the factories, government offices, and warehouses that were about to be taken over.

On May 28, the East China Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and the Shanghai Committee decided to rename the People’s Security Corps the Shanghai Workers’ Vigilance Corps, to be led by the soon-to-be-established Vigilance Department of the Shanghai Federation of Trade Unions Preparatory Committee. The Shanghai People’s Security Corps had successfully fulfilled its historical mission.

The former site of the Shanghai People’s Security Corps was verified in 1987 based on the recollections of Zhang Chengzong, Zhang Qi, Shen Han, and others. On November 17, 1987, it was announced as a Shanghai Municipal Commemorative Site. On July 1, 1989, the Shanghai Cultural Relics Management Committee and Shanghai Customs installed a bronze relief plaque on the north wall of the ground floor lobby of the building and held an unveiling ceremony.

The former site on the fourth floor is still used as office space and is not open to visitors at present. The commemorative relief on the left side of the building can be visited by the public.