The Central Organization Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is a specialized leadership agency for the selection and appointment of cadres within the CPC power operation system, holding a crucial position.
An Ziwen worked in the Central Organization Department of the CPC for 21 years, making him the CPC senior official with the longest tenure in the organization. From 1945 to 1956, he served as the Deputy Minister of the Organization Department, and from 1956 to 1966, he was the Minister of the Organization Department.
On May 16, 1966, the Cultural Revolution erupted. An Ziwen was overthrown on August 19. In January 1968, An Ziwen was formally arrested, handcuffed, and escorted to Qin Cheng Prison. He spent over eight years there. In May 1975, An Ziwen was released from prison, but he did not regain his freedom; instead, he was sent to supervise labor at a fertilizer plant in Huainan City, Anhui Province, for three years and seven months.
On December 16, 1978, two days before the convening of the 3rd Plenum of the 11th Central Committee of the CPC, the CPC Central Committee issued a notice to rehabilitate An Ziwen and 61 others.
So why was An Ziwen overthrown and imprisoned in Qin Cheng Prison during the Cultural Revolution?
According to revelations by the rebel factions within the Organization Department, An Ziwen was accused of “ten major crimes”:
1. Veteran anti-Communist and major traitor.
2. Establishing independent kingdoms to resist the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao.
3. Opposing the study of Mao Zedong’s works.
4. Recruiting and conspiring with defectors, forming cliques for personal gain.
5. Implementing the anti-revolutionary revisionist cadre policy.
6. Promoting the anti-revolutionary revisionist party-building line.
7. Maliciously attacking the Three Red Banners, promoting individualism, revisionism, and darkness.
8. Abolishing class struggle and promoting class conciliation.
9. Brutally suppressing revolutionary mass movements.
10. A typical bourgeoisie, a filial son and grandson of the landlord class.
How did An Ziwen become a “veteran anti-Communist and major traitor”?
It was revealed that on August 31, 1936, while detained at the Kuomintang Beiping Military Personnel Self-Examination Branch, An Ziwen took the lead in publishing a “Anti-Communist Notice” in the North China Daily:
“Due to our simple thinking, weak observation, careless associations, and lack of self-discipline, we have been detained at the Beiping Military Personnel Self-Examination Branch to reflect and reform ourselves. During this period of national crisis, all Chinese youth must determine their direction and strive for the benefit of the motherland. Fortunately, the government is lenient, not blaming the past, allowing us to reflect and reform. We are sincerely repentant and willing to staunchly oppose Communism under the leadership of the government, to be loyal citizens, never to join Communist organizations or engage in any reactionary activities. We hope that other aspiring youths will not be misled in the future. This declaration is hereby published.”
An Ziwen’s name was then Xu Ziwen, and this “Anti-Communist Notice” served as the “ironclad evidence” of his betrayal.
How about An Ziwen’s involvement in “recruiting and conspiring with defectors, forming cliques for personal gain”?
According to disclosures, An Ziwen and his backers “organically and programmatically hidden a group of surrendering defectors and politically suspicious individuals without conducting reviews for a long time, and placed them in important positions. At the same time as An Ziwen’s defection, there were dozens of others, such as Bo Yibo, Liu Lantao, Hu Xikui, Li Chuli, Yang Xianzhen, Liao Luyan, Xu Zirong, Feng Jiping, and Ma Huizhi.”
At that time, Bo Yibo served as the Deputy Premier of the State Council, Liu Lantao as Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Hu Xikui as Secretary of the Secretariat of the Northwest Bureau of the CPC, Li Chuli as Deputy Minister of the Organization Department, Yang Xianzhen as Vice President of the Central Party School, Liao Luyan as Minister of the Agriculture Ministry, Xu Zirong as Deputy Minister of the Public Security Ministry, Feng Jiping as Secretary of the Shanxi Provincial Party Committee, and Ma Huizhi as Deputy Secretary of the Party Organization of the Ministry of Communications.
“They also vigorously cultivated confidants, cultivated personal forces, inserted them everywhere, and spread them all over the country. People like Liu Zhiyan (Former Director of the Organization Department, currently serving as Secretary of the Secretariat of the Southwest Bureau), Li Lian (Former Deputy Minister of the Organization Department, now serving as Secretary of the Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee), Jia Zhen (Former Secretary-General of the Organization Department, currently Vice President of the Central Party School), Wang Fu (Former Deputy Minister of the Organization Department, currently serving as Secretary of the Secretariat of the Northwest Bureau), Dan Tong (Former Secretary-General of the Organization Department, currently serving as Deputy Director of the Ethnic Affairs Committee), Ma Yaoji (Former Director of the Organization Department Research Office, currently serving as Deputy Minister of Transportation), Wang Yuluo (Former Director of the Organization Department, currently serving as Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Textile Industry), Han Jingcao (Former Director of the Organization Department Office, currently Secretary-General of the Northwest Bureau), Zhang Wenbao (Former Deputy Director of the Organization Department Office, currently serving as Deputy Minister of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee Organization Department), Li Wanghuai (Former Director of the Organization Department, currently serving as Deputy Minister of the Northwest Bureau Organization Department), Liu Yi (Former Director of the Organization Department, currently serving as Deputy Director of the Central Finance and Trade Political Department), Wang Ao (Former Deputy Director of the Organization Department, currently serving as Deputy Director of the Southwest Bureau Organization Department), and others.”
From the CPC Central Committee’s decision to rehabilitate An Ziwen and 61 others in December 1978, none of the aforementioned ten major crimes was substantiated.
In that case, what was the real reason for An Ziwen’s downfall?
First, he was a loyal follower of Liu Shaoqi.
During the Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong’s most important political enemy was then the second-ranking figure in the CPC, Liu Shaoqi. An Ziwen had worked directly under Liu Shaoqi’s leadership for a long time.
In March 1931, while engaged in underground CPC activities in Tianjin, An Ziwen was arrested and transferred to the Kuomintang Beiping Military Personnel Self-Examination Branch (also known as Caolanzi Prison). By August 1936, An Ziwen had been imprisoned for over five years.
In the fall of 1936, Liu Shaoqi, the Secretary of the North China Bureau, requested central concurrence to have An Ziwen and other CPC members, who were detained at Caolanzi Prison, publicly issue an “Anti-Communist Manifesto” in the newspaper before being released.
At that time, the CPC’s aim was to quickly rescue this group of CPC members; having them publish the “Anti-Communist Manifesto” was simply a tactic to deceive the Kuomintang authorities.
After An Ziwen’s release, he served as the head of the Organization Department of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, directly under the leadership of Liu Shaoqi.
In 1937, following the outbreak of the full-scale War of Resistance against Japan, An Ziwen left Beijing and eventually arrived in Taiyuan, where he worked in Liu Shaoqi’s Organization Department of the North China Bureau. Before the fall of Taiyuan, Liu Shaoqi had a conversation with An Ziwen, requesting him and Bo Yibo to establish a base in Taiyue.
In the spring of 1943, An Ziwen was transferred to Yan’an. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in 1945, An Ziwen became the Deputy Minister of the Organization Department under the leadership of Liu Shaoqi and Ren Bishi.
In March 1947, following the withdrawal of the CPC Central Committee from Yan’an, it was decided that Liu Shaoqi, as the Secretary of the Central Working Committee, would proceed to North China to carry out the central mission. According to Liu Shaoqi’s proposal, An Ziwen concurrently served as the Secretary-General of the Central Working Committee. In contemporary terms, An Ziwen became Liu Shaoqi’s right-hand man.
From the establishment of the PRC in 1949 to the eruption of the Cultural Revolution in 1966, Liu Shaoqi, as a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee, was responsible for the Organization Department. During these 17 years, An Ziwen, as the Deputy Minister and Minister of the Organization Department, worked under the leadership of Liu Shaoqi.
In conclusion, from his release from Caolanzi Prison in 1936 to the outbreak of the Cultural Revolution in 1966, throughout a span of 30 years, An Ziwen had primarily been a loyal follower under Liu Shaoqi.
With Liu Shaoqi’s downfall, how could An Ziwen be safe?
In 1967, Kang Sheng, an advisor to the Central Cultural Revolution Group, in order to frame Liu Shaoqi, sent someone to tell An Ziwen: “There is a major accomplishment waiting for you now. As long as you can prove that Liu Shaoqi is a traitor, you can immediately go to Diaoyutai (Guesthouse of State Affairs) to talk to the central leaders, the car is waiting at the door.” An Ziwen said he could not provide evidence.
In January 1968, after An Ziwen was imprisoned in Qin Cheng Prison, Kang Sheng sent someone to tell him: “Someone else has already taken credit for the first accomplishment. If you can provide additional evidence proving that Liu Shaoqi is a traitor, there can be great benefits in earning a second merit. Do you want to reunite with your wife and children?” An Ziwen still expressed his inability to provide evidence.
Before the convening of the 9th CPC National Congress in 1969, Kang Sheng sent a third person to An Ziwen, saying: “I’ll tell you good news. The 9th Congress is about to open. If you can prove that Liu Shaoqi is a traitor, you won’t be treated unfairly. Of course, continuing as the Minister of the Central Organization Department is impossible, but becoming a member of the Central Committee is still possible.” An Ziwen insisted that he could not provide evidence.
Secondly, he was a loyal follower of Peng Zhen.
The first anti-Party group targeted by Mao Zedong in the Cultural Revolution was the “Peng, Luo, Lu, Yang anti-Party group.” “Peng” refers to Peng Zhen, the former member of the CPC Politburo, Secretary of the Central Secretariat, and First Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee.
An Ziwen was also a loyal follower of Peng Zhen.
In 1937, Liu Shaoqi assigned Peng Zhen to establish the Taiyue base alongside An Ziwen and Bo Yibo. In 1938, Peng Zhen became the Secretary of the CPC Central Bureau in Jin-Cha-Ji, with An Ziwen as his subordinate.
In 1941, Peng Zhen arrived in Yan’an. In March 1943, due to illness, Chen Yun, the Minister of the Organization Department, delegated the role to Peng Zhen. From March 1944 to August 1945, Peng Zhen acted as the deputy director of the Organization Department. From July 1945 to April 1953, Peng Zhen was the Minister of the Organization Department.
Throughout the eight years from 1945 to 1953, Peng Zhen was consistently An Ziwen’s superior.
Following Peng Zhen’s downfall, there was no escape for An Ziwen.
During the Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong targeted Liu Shaoqi with the three major charges of “traitor, spy, and scab.” Where did this “traitor” accusation come from?
It originated from the incident in 1936 when Liu Shaoqi, as Secretary of the North China Bureau of the CPC, rescued An Ziwen and sixty other CPC members from Caolanzi Prison.
Because at the time when An Ziwen and others were released, they publicly issued an “Anti-Communist Manifesto” in the newspaper. A CPC member issuing an anti-Communist manifesto, what else but treason?
To the millions of Chinese people unaware of the truth during the Cultural Revolution, An Ziwen was considered a traitor. An Ziwen and the other sixty-one individuals were released after Liu Shaoqi’s approval. Their publication of the “Anti-Communist Notice” was done following Liu Shaoqi’s instructions. As a result, Liu Shaoqi naturally became a “traitor.”
As outlined above, Liu Shaoqi instructed An Ziwen and others to fulfill the prison’s procedures for release, in consultation with the CPC Central Committee and with its consent. This matter was known by General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Zhang Wentian, and top CPC leaders including Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Kang Sheng.
Liu Shaoqi issued instructions to release An Ziwen and others only after receiving a reply from Zhang Wentian.
However, Mao Zedong’s tactics were ruthless.
During the Cultural Revolution, in order to bring down Liu Shaoqi, Mao falsely created a “sixty-one person traitor group,” labeling An Ziwen and sixty-one others as traitors, and subsequently accusing Liu Shaoqi of treason, which conveniently followed.
In conclusion, according to Bao Tong, former secretary of Zhao Ziyang, following the end of the Cultural Revolution, An Ziwen emerged from prison and posed a sharp question to those he met: Who would supervise Mao Zedong?
Why did An Ziwen ask this question? Because he knew that during the Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong intentionally targeted him. Mao was well aware that there was no such thing as a “sixty-one person traitor group,” yet he used this as a pretext to target An Ziwen.
During the Cultural Revolution, Mao did not hold back in his actions. He considered a single word from him as powerful as ten thousand. Mao decided there was a “sixty-one person traitor group,” and all CPC officials below him dared not say a word of dissent.
On March 16, 1967, after Mao Zedong’s approval, the CPC Central Committee officially issued the “Preliminary Investigation on the Issues of Defection by Bo Yibo, Liu Lantao, An Ziwen, and Yang Xianzhen,” where An Ziwen and the sixty-one individuals were formally designated as part of the “traitor group.”
This was a case of deceitful propaganda. Nevertheless, Mao Zedong proceeded with these actions, and no CPC member could stop him.
Even today, who will supervise Mao Zedong? For the CPC, it remains an unsolvable question.