Site of the Taiyuan Military Mediation Executive Group

Site of the Taiyuan Military Mediation Executive Group

The Site of the Taiyuan Military Mediation Executive Group is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Site of the Taiyuan Military Mediation Executive Group is located near Tianyigong at No. 99 Yingze Street, Yingze District. After the victory in the War of Resistance against Japan, negotiations and combat between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party alternated. On January 5, 1946, the two sides reached the "Agreement on the Cessation of Internal Military Hostilities," and on the 10th, they signed the "Order and Statement on the Cessation of Internal Military Hostilities and the Restoration of Transportation." To ensure the implementation of the ceasefire, a three-person military group was formed, consisting of Nationalist government representative Zhang Qun (later replaced by Zhang Zhizhong), Communist representative Zhou Enlai, and U.S. President's special envoy George Marshall. A "Military Mediation Headquarters Executive Department" composed of representatives from all three parties was established in Beiping, which included several executive groups such as the Taiyuan Military Mediation Executive Group. The Taiyuan Executive Group was the central group for ceasefire negotiations in Shanxi, leading comprehensive military mediation efforts in the region. It was composed of Nationalist representative Zou Lufu (later replaced by Yang Wenjie), Communist representative Xu Haidong (later replaced by Chen Geng, Zhang Liankui, Liu Jianxun, and Zhang Chunjing), U.S. representative Healy (also translated as Herley, later replaced by Ayers), and Guo Zongfen from the headquarters of the Second War Zone. On January 16, the Taiyuan Executive Group arrived in Taiyuan and stayed at the Fuxing Hotel in Taiyuan. The hotel had three floors: the U.S. personnel stayed on the ground floor, the Nationalist side on the top floor, and the Communist negotiation team in the middle. From March 3 to 4, 1946, members of the three-person military group—Marshall, Zhou Enlai, and Zhang Zhizhong—as well as members of the Mediation Department such as Ye Jianying, Liu Bocheng, Zheng Jiemin, and Robertson, came to Taiyuan for an inspection. Through the mediation efforts, the three parties—the Nationalists, Communists, and Americans—issued a statement on free trade, and Yan Xishan carried out trials for Japanese war criminals. However, due to Yan Xishan’s lack of sincerity, peace talks made little progress. After September, the mediation work effectively came to an end. In the 1980s, the original site building was demolished and disappeared during urban redevelopment.