Former Site of the Special Commissioner of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee of the CPC

Former Site of the Special Commissioner of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee of the CPC

The former site of the Special Commissioner of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee of the CPC is a protected cultural heritage site of Guangzhou.

The former site of the (Special Commissioner) Guangzhou Municipal Committee of the CPC is located on the second floor of No. 6 Weixin Heng Road, Qiyi Road (formerly Weixin Road), Yuexiu District, Guangzhou. This served as the secret headquarters of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee of the CPC during the Third Revolutionary Civil War period.

In order to unify the leadership of CPC members who were sent back to Guangzhou from various guerrilla zones during the Anti-Japanese War and the various party organizations that had been conducting underground struggles in Guangzhou, in July 1945, the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the CPC decided to establish the Guangzhou Municipal Working Committee. In October, the Municipal Working Committee was officially formed, with Chen Nengxing in charge. After its establishment, the Municipal Working Committee immediately contacted party members who had conducted underground work in Guangzhou during the occupation period, took over the organizational ties of CPC members sent from various guerrilla zones, restored party organizations at all levels, and mobilized the masses to join the peace movement.

At the end of January 1946, the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the CPC decided to dissolve the Guangzhou Municipal Working Committee. In February, the Guangzhou Municipal Committee of the CPC was established, with Huang Songjian appointed as the Party Secretary. After its establishment, the Municipal Committee continued to focus on rebuilding the organization, stabilizing its footing, carrying out mass work, and preparing for organized struggle. In June 1946, Chiang Kai-shek brazenly tore up the ceasefire agreement and the Political Consultative Conference accords, launching a large-scale offensive against the Central Plains Liberated Area, which marked the outbreak of the full-scale civil war. To strengthen control over Guangzhou, the reactionary Kuomintang authorities attempted to completely eliminate the CPC forces in Guangzhou and its surrounding counties by implementing a series of measures to tighten public security, scheming to “wipe out” the revolutionary forces in Guangzhou entirely.

Faced with this severe situation, the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the CPC decided to steadfastly implement the Central Committee’s work guideline for white areas: “Conceal strength, lie low for the long term, accumulate power, and await the right opportunity.” To preserve strength and continue the struggle, a large number of exposed party members were withdrawn to Hong Kong and rural areas. The organizational structure and leadership methods were changed; the Guangzhou Municipal Committee of the CPC was dissolved and replaced with a Special Commissioner system in Guangzhou. All communications were conducted via single-line secret contacts, and the second floor of No. 6 Weixin Heng Road was rented as the secret office location. Zhong Ming was appointed as the General Special Commissioner of Guangzhou (in August 1948, Zhong Ming became the Deputy Secretary of the Urban Work Committee of the CPC Central Committee’s Hong Kong Bureau. Although he was recalled to Hong Kong to prepare for receiving the advancing Liberation Army to liberate Guangzhou, he still retained his role as Guangzhou Special Commissioner. When he was not in Guangzhou, Chen Xiangnan handled major issues). Chen Xiangnan was appointed as the – Special Commissioner, Yu Meiqing as the – Special Commissioner, and Li Guolin as the Special Commissioner for government office staff and primary and secondary school teachers. The Special Commissioners were directly under the leadership of the Urban Work Committee of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the CPC.

In July 1946, after taking office, Zhong Ming and comrades from the Guangzhou Party organization discussed how to implement the directives from their superiors. They concluded that the foremost task was to do everything possible to crush the enemy’s plan to “wipe out” the revolutionary forces, protect the organization from being destroyed, stabilize their footing, persevere in the long term, connect deeply with the masses, and accumulate strength. To this end, a series of emergency measures were taken to ensure the absolute concealment and safety of the organization before launching struggles. The first measure was to continue relocating exposed party members. The second measure was to change the original organizational structure by dissolving the former general branches, branches, and cells, replacing them with different system-based lines, each adopting a single-line, vertically layered contact approach. The third measure involved self-education through study and ideological reflection, re-evaluating the remaining comrades, and strengthening education on the current situation, revolutionary ideals, serving the people, revolutionary integrity, and the regulations of secret work. Through these measures, the organization was completely concealed, stabilized, and achieved new growth. After the withdrawals, approximately 100 underground CPC members remained in the city. After the establishment of the Special Commissioner system of the Municipal Committee, they actively led young students in struggles against hunger, civil war, and persecution, in coordination with the military struggles on the national liberation fronts.

The site is a three-story brick-and-wood building. Facing south and situated to the north, the Municipal Committee rented the second floor, where a dedicated person was usually stationed. Members of the Municipal Committee (Special Commissioners) regularly met here to discuss work. Currently, the first floor of the building is commercial space, while the second and third floors are residential.

Source: "Red Historical Sites of Guangzhou"

Further Reading:

· Ninth Batch of Protected Cultural Heritage Sites of Guangzhou