In February 1952, more than 20,000 cadres and group leaders gathered at Baoding Stadium , which is the public trial location of the first major corruption case in since the establishment of New China . In the afternoon of the same day, two defendants, Liu Qingshan and Zhang Zishan, were sentenced to death and were then handed over to the army to transport it to the Dongguan University Collegiate Camp for execution.
From revolutionary meritorious officials to corrupt crimes
Liu Qingshan and Zhang Zishan both came from the army . During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Liu and Zhang fought on the front line of battle and fought bloody battles with the Japanese army. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the two have become military leading cadres , and continue to lead the army to fight with the Kuomintang reactionary army. Objectively speaking, they have indeed made contributions to the revolution.
� These positions are all high-ranking officials in charge of the ruling party . Our party has given them such authority in the hope that they can continue to serve the people .
But after the two had power, they went astray and thought they were the heroes of the revolution and should enjoy it. completely forgot the original intention and original intention of the revolution . Especially Liu Qingshan , he has repeatedly said in front of his comrades that he should enjoy the world, and he is very arrogant.
was during the Korean War . Volunteer Army suffered on the front line, and the people in the rear also suffered to support the volunteer army's combat. 's huge war has made our already withered social economy worse . In order to alleviate this situation, Mao Zedong proposed to streamline the military and simplify administration, practice rigorous economy, and encourage the people across the country to work together to overcome the current difficulties.
Liu Qingshan naturally doesn't eat such bitterness. According to his colleagues in the Tianjin Prefectural Committee at that time, Liu Qingshan was the secretary of the Prefectural Committee, but there were no people in the office all year round. Only colleagues who were close to Liu Qingshan knew that this person had a small foreign building in Tianjin City and he stayed in the building to enjoy himself on weekdays. When others asked, he cited on the grounds of recuperation.
Liu Qingshan's comfortable life is in sharp contrast to the current poverty of society at that time. Agricultural science and technology was underdeveloped at that time, and greenhouses had not yet been promoted, and seasonal vegetables were also needed. But Liu Qingshan insisted on eating leek dumplings in the middle of winter, and felt that leeks were not easy to digest, so the chef asked the chef to cook the dumplings and then pick out leek leaves , leaving only the aroma of leeks.
After living in a luxury house and eating delicious food, Liu Qingshan was still not satisfied. At that time, Liu Qingshan's transportation tool was an American Willis Jeep seized from the battlefield. Liu Qingshan thought that the simple military Jeep was too comfortable and could not be worthy of his identity, so he embezzled huge amounts of public funds to buy an imported luxury car for himself. This time, he bought two.
Zhang Zishan is not as frustrated as Liu Qingshan in terms of enjoyment. In addition to maintaining the highest specifications in daily life, this person also loves cars, and his way of loving cars is also very unique. That is, within one year, replaced five different styles of high-end cars .
More importantly, because two major leaders took the lead in corrupting the atmosphere, The party organizations in Tianjin were also in a mess. In Tianjin at that time, the comparison between party members was everywhere. In the past, people compared their qualifications and achievements, but now they began to enjoy and consume. The entire organization's party style and party discipline was extremely severely damaged.
Afterwards, according to the investigation by the discipline inspection department, the amount of embezzled public funds by Zhang Zishan was equal to Liu Qingshan. The amount of old coins embezzled by the two was as high as 17.162.72 million , equivalent to 1.716 million ml. Combined with the price level at that time, this amount was enough to provide more than 2.5 million a month of food.
The Party Central Committee personally instructed the discipline inspection departments in the North China region to receive the report, and quickly investigated the specific situation of Liu and Zhang, and made a report on the corruption of the Tianjin Prefectural Committee , and handed it over to Mao Zedong and the Party Central Committee. After Mao Zedong read the report, even he was shocked and immediately instructed to arrest Zhang Zishan and Liu Qingshan and sentenced him strictly.
Considering the achievements of the two, the discipline inspection department agreed to impose the death penalty on the two of them
, but it still left room for to reimburse and handed over the final decision to the central government. Unexpectedly, Mao Zedong crossed out reprieve at the first sight, saying that those who use their power to oppress the people are standing opposite to the people, and our Communist Party wants to get rid of these people to serve the people.
Although Mao Zedong had made up his mind, in the face of the comrades who came to plead for Liu and Zhang, Mao Zedong still patiently explained to him the reason for his decision to make the death penalty. Mao Zedong admitted that he also knew that Liu and Zhang had made contributions to the party and the country. It is precisely because of this that he should be shot and played the role of killing the chicken to warn the monkey . Otherwise, more Liu and Zhang would appear.
Liu Qingshan and Zhang Zishan finally got the punishment , but the Party Central Committee still gave them some preferential treatment . First, they were beaten in the back when the shot was executed, so that at least they would not destroy the appearance. Second, the harm would not be as good as the family, and they would not look at the family members from an alternative perspective. Third, the public paid to buy the funeral for the two and raise their children.
Liu Qingshan and Zhang Zishan were very grateful for the preferential treatment of the central government and said bluntly that they are a typical example. If is shot, they can also warn future generations of and can play some final role. Our party’s impartial treatment of Liu and Zhang has received unanimous praise from the masses. Even foreigners in China at that time knew about this and lamented that the CCP and the old party were indeed different, and they truly achieved and would never be favored for personal gain .
Mao Zedong's determination to fight corruption
Why Mao Zedong always maintained a zero-tolerance attitude towards corruption within the party ? This is also due to Mao Zedong's understanding of history. The old saying goes, history is used as a mirror, and we are well aware of this truth, Mao Zedong concluded from the lessons of history that corruption cannot be opened, and there are too many dynasties in history, , which collapsed due to internal corruption issues.
In Mao Zedong's view, the issue of corruption is not a problem of party style and discipline, but a national foundation issue . Mao Zedong's determination to fight corruption can be seen from his attitude towards his relatives. After the founding of New China, some of Mao Zedong's relatives asked him for a half-time position, but they were all rejected by Mao Zedong.
In life, Mao Zedong also thrifty . For him, the most important thing about daily necessities is convenience and practical. If the clothes can be patched, don’t buy new clothes. Pose these things are useless to him, especially when the country is relatively difficult. Mao Zedong must set an example , otherwise it will be difficult to convince the public.
