Rong Yiren (; May 1, 1916 – October 26, 2005) was the Vice President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 1998 and was heavily involved with the opening of the Chinese economy to western investment. Rong is known both in China and in the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

as "the Red Capitalist" because his family were some of the few pre-1949 industrialists in Shanghai to have been treated well by the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...

in return for their co-operation with the government of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

Biography

Early life

Rong was born on May 1, 1916 in

Wuxi Wuxi (, ) is a city in southern Jiangsu province, eastern China, by car to the northwest of downtown Shanghai, between Changzhou and Suzhou. In 2017 it had a population of 3,542,319, with 6,553,000 living in the entire prefecture-level city a ...

, a city near

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

in Jiangsu Province. His father

Rong Desheng Rong Desheng (榮德生; 4 August 1875 – 29 July 1952), born Rong Zongquan (), was a prominent Chinese industrialist from Wuxi. He and his older brother Rong Zongjing established the Rong Family Corporation in Shanghai, which became the largest ...

and uncle

Rong Zongjing Rong Zongjing (; September 23, 1873 - 1938) was a Chinese industrialist from Wuxi, Jiangsu. He was the older brother of Rong Desheng and the uncle of Rong Yiren Rong Yiren (; May 1, 1916 – October 26, 2005) was the Vice President of the Pe ...

were the founders and operators of a

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cul ...

and

cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven b ...

ing business. He graduated with a degree in history from the Christian-run St. John's University. Then he was assigned to manage a part of the family business and he took over the running of all 24 mills upon the death of his elder brother Paul Yung (Rong Yixin) in an air crash on

Basalt Island Basalt Island or Fo Shek Chau () is an island of Hong Kong and administratively part of the Sai Kung District. Together with Wang Chau and Bluff Island, it forms the Ung Kong () Group and is part of Hong Kong Global Geopark. Geography Basalt ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

, on 21 December 1948.

Post Chinese Civil War

At the end of the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...

and the founding of the People's Republic of China, Rong chose to stay on the

Chinese mainland "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...

instead of fleeing to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

as most businessmen did. His family was allowed to keep their business until 1956, when all private businesses became state-owned. His family was given $6 million in compensation. In the 1950s, Mao Zedong endorsed him many times for his contributions to the Communist Party. When Korean hostilities broke out, Rong's family contributed substantial amounts of funding along with considerable clothing. He was appointed the vice-mayor of

in 1957 and Vice Minister of Textiles concurrently since 1959, later served as an

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...

adviser for the

Cultural Revolution

During the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

, he was denounced as a "capitalist". He lost a great deal of his personal wealth and was the target of

death threat A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a d ...

s from the

Red Guards Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard lead ...

, radical youth organizations aligned with the new social and cultural policies of

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also Romanization of Chinese, romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the List of national founde ...

. In a situation typical of disgraced government officials, entrepreneurs and intellectuals during the Cultural Revolution, Rong was given a demeaning job as a

janitor A janitor (American English, Scottish English), also known as a custodian, porter, cleanser, cleaner or caretaker, is a person who cleans and maintains buildings. In some cases, they will also carry out maintenance and security duties. A simil ...

. However, he and his family received protection from

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman M ...

from persecution from the Red Guards. As Rong was not a Communist party member at the time, Zhou was not able to obtain approval from Mao Zedong to protect Rong officially. Instead, Zhou coordinated with Chen Jinhua to place Rong's mansion under the control of Red Guards affiliated with the Ministry of Textiles, who were deeply sympathetic to him and protected him from other Red Guard factions.

Chinese economic reformation

After the death of Mao Zedong and the end of Cultural Revolution,

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. Aft ...

appointed Rong as an advisor for the economic opening of China. He set up the China International Trust and Investment Corp., or CITIC, in 1978, which was responsible for much of the initial western investment in China. At the height of the pro-democracy movement in 1989, he risked his life by asking the top Chinese leaders to negotiate with the students. A week after the

Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989 The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...

, he called the crackdown “extraordinarily wise and correct.” He was appointed to the ceremonial post of vice president in 1993.

Later life

Rong retired on March 15, 1998 and died on October 26, 2005. He was listed as one of the richest men in Asia, with a family fortune of $1.9 billion in 2000 (equivalent to $ billion in ). Most of this wealth can be attributed to Rong's son

Larry Yung Larry Yung Chi-kin or Rong Zhijian (; born 31 January 1942) is a Chinese businessman and the former chairman of CITIC Pacific, a Hong Kong-based Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. According to Hurun Report, he was one of the wealthiest people ...

in his role as

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vari ...

CITIC Pacific CITIC Limited () is a conglomerate headquartered in Hong Kong. Its shares are listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and it is a constituent of the Hang Seng Index. 58% of its issued shares are owned by the Chinese state-own ...

. Although regarded as a non-Communist during his lifetime, he was a member of Chinese Communist Party since 1985, according to his official obituary in Chinese; yet owing to his request that his membership be unveiled only after his death, almost nobody knew about his status as a communist even after his vice presidency.

Life and death

He died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

on October 26, 2005 at the age of 89. His funeral was held on November 3, 2005, and he was interred at Overseas Chinese Cemetery. His

wife A wife (plural, : wives) is a female in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until the marriage is legally Dissolution (law), dissolved with a divorce judgement. On the death of her partner, ...

died seven years later and was buried next to him. Less than two years after his death, his friend

Bo Yibo Bo Yibo (; 17 February 1908 – 15 January 2007) was a Chinese politician. He was one of the most senior political figures in China during the 1980s and 1990s. After joining the Chinese Communist Party when he was 17, he worked as a Communist ...

died Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

on January 15, 2007.

Personal life

In 1988 Rong requested Deng to inscribe "" (translated: "Admonish Deception Room") on a plaque to be hung at his sitting room. To avoid using deception as a merchant was his father's motto. This scene is portrayed in drama ''

Deng Xiaoping at History's Crossroads ''Deng Xiaoping at History's Crossroads'' () is a 2014 TV biopic series based on the life of Deng Xiaoping. It was produced by CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to t ...

''. He married () in 1937. Yang died on January 13, 2013 in Hong Kong.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rong, Yiren 1916 births 2005 deaths CITIC Group people Chinese Communist Party politicians from Jiangsu Vice presidents of the People's Republic of China Politicians from Wuxi People's Republic of China politicians from Jiangsu St. John's University, Shanghai alumni Hong Kong Basic Law Drafting Committee members Jinan University Businesspeople from Wuxi People of the Republic of China Vice Chairpersons of the National People's Congress Vice Chairpersons of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference