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Li Kenong (; 1899–1962) was a Chinese general and politician, one of the creators of the security and intelligence apparatus of both the
Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
(CCP) and the
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...
. Notably, he served as Director of the Central Investigation Department, Deputy Chief of the PLA General Staff Department and Deputy Minister of
Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...
''China, People's Republic of'', in Richard Bennett ''Espionage: Spies and Secrets'', 2012 and was awarded the rank of
General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
in 1955.


Early life

Born in
Chaohu Chaohu () is a county-level city of Anhui Province, China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Hefei. Situated on the northeast and southeast shores of Lake Chao, from which the city was named, Chaohu is under the adm ...
,
Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...
, in 1899 during the
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
, Li was also known as Li Zetian and Li Leizhong. He became the deputy editor of the ''Anqing Guomin Shibao'' (National People's Daily) in 1926, entering the CCP in 1927. In this same period Li became a local propaganda leader for the Chinese Nationalist Party ( KMT) in the same locality, and performed local coordination for the
Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT) against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The purpose of the campaign was to reunify China prop ...
. After the CCP's break with the KMT in April 1927, Li travelled to Shanghai in 1928 to do newspaper work for the communists on the ''Tieshenche Bao'' and the ''Laobaixing Bao'' newspapers.Biography
''Xinhuanet.com''


Secret agent under Zhou Enlai

Li was an early agent of
Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai ( zh, s=周恩来, p=Zhōu Ēnlái, w=Chou1 Ên1-lai2; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China from September 1954 unti ...
, via the Communist intelligence agency, "''Teke''". Along with fellow agents Qian Zhuangfei and Hu Di, Zhou often referred to Li as one of "the three most distinguished intelligence workers of the Party". Under Zhou's direction Li joined the KMT secret police as a mole by the end of 1929. Li was soon placed in charge of investigating Communist activities, and was provided with carefully selected information about the activities of parties hostile to the KMT. The information provided to Li was carefully controlled by Zhou Enlai. Li also reported to Zhou on the plans of Chiang Kai-shek. Beginning in 1929, under the direct order of
Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai ( zh, s=周恩来, p=Zhōu Ēnlái, w=Chou1 Ên1-lai2; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China from September 1954 unti ...
, Li Kenong used a fake name, Li Zetian, when working inside the KMT in Shanghai. Li's work inside the KMT specialized in radio communications and cryptography. Li excelled in his work and was promoted to the section head at Shanghai. Throughout his career as a Communist mole Li took pains to pass all information of interest to the Communists. In late April 1931, Gu Shunzhang, Zhou's chief aide in security affairs, was arrested in
Wuhan Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the List of cities in China by population, eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine National cent ...
. After his capture, Gu was subjected to heavy torture. Gu had strong connections with the Shanghai mafia and had shallow communist convictions. In order to save himself, Gu informed the KMT about covert CCP organizations in Wuhan, leading police to arrest and execution of over ten leading Communist leaders in the city. Gu then informed his captors that he would only inform the KMT about CCP activities in Shanghai if he could give the information directly to Chiang Kai-shek. The two-day transfer of Gu to Shanghai gave CCP intelligence two days to rescue most of their agents. On April 25, 1931, Qian Zhuangfei, another one of Zhou's agents planted in the
Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
intelligence agency headquartered at
Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...
, who was directly under Li's control, saw the message from Wuhan announcing Gu's capture. Qian held the message from distribution while he sent his son-in-law from
Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...
to notify Li in Shanghai. Li immediately attempted to inform CCP leaders of Gu's capture, but was not able to contact the officer in charge of CCP intelligence, Chen Geng. Li decided to break protocol instructing agents not to contact their liaisons outside of established times. Li went to look for Chen in numerous places and eventually found him, reporting the capture of Gu. Li and Chen informed
Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai ( zh, s=周恩来, p=Zhōu Ēnlái, w=Chou1 Ên1-lai2; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China from September 1954 unti ...
, who arranged an emergency evacuation of as many CCP members as possible from their hiding places in Shanghai. Hundreds of Zhou's agents were thus saved, but not all.Barnouin and Yu 47 Li's open attempts to contact Gu and Zhou destroyed his "cover", and marked the end of Li Kenong's ability to serve as a clandestine member of the KMT secret police. Following his work in Shanghai, Li fled to Mao Zedong's base in
Jiangxi ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...
. Li was later appointed the head of the CCP's Jiangxi Protection Branch (''Zhengzhi Baowei Fenju''), executive director (''Zhixing Buzhang'') of Political Protection for the Chinese Soviet, and Chief of the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
Political Protection Bureau. Upon arrival in
Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...
at the end of the
Long March The Long March ( zh, s=长征, p=Chángzhēng, l=Long Expedition) was a military retreat by the Chinese Red Army and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from advancing Kuomintang forces during the Chinese Civil War, occurring between October 1934 and ...
, Li became the chief of the International Liaison Department of the Chinese Communist Party. In 1936, after the
Xi'an Incident The Xi'an Incident was a Chinese political crisis that lasted from 12 to 26 December 1936. Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Nationalist government of China, was arrested in Xi'an by soldiers of the Northeastern Army under the command of Ge ...
, he was appointed as Secretary in charge of the CCP delegation based there. During the Xi'an Incident, Li served for the first time as a principal negotiator, roles that he would repeat later on in Panmunjom (1952–3) and Geneva (1954).


Second Sino-Japanese War

Upon the outbreak of the
Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...
in 1937, Li was appointed head of the
Eighth Route Army The Eighth Route Army (), officially titled as the List of Army Groups of the National Revolutionary Army, 18th Group Army, was a Field army, group army nominally under the banner of the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Republic of Ch ...
offices in Shanghai,
Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...
, and
Guilin Guilin (Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''), postal map romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as Kweilin, is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the we ...
. He also became the CCP Central Committee
Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...
Bureau Secretary, and an assistant to Zhou Enlai. After the relationship between the CCP and KMT worsened following the 1941 New Fourth Army Incident, Communist delegations in Nationalist controlled regions were ordered to return to
Yan'an Yan'an; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi Province of China, province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several c ...
. Li Kenong faced the difficult task of taking all of the important documents and intelligence gathered back to a Communist base without the documents being confiscated by the Kuomintang secret police. Li accomplished this successfully by letting his team ride with a KMT military convoy along the way. Li personally rode in the very same car used by the Nationalist army commander, and completed the journey without any losses. After his successful return to Yan'an, Li became the deputy director of the CCP Central Department of Social Affairs, under
Kang Sheng Kang Sheng (; 4 November 1898 – 16 December 1975), born Zhang Zongke (), was a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official, politician and calligrapher best known for having overseen the work of the CCP's internal security and intelligence appara ...
. In 1942 he became the deputy director of the CCP Central Intelligence Department, the staff and leadership of which partially overlapped with those of the SAD. One of the primary tasks of Li and his fellow intelligence officers was to do business with local warlords, so that the supplies needed in Communist rear areas, especially medicine, could be obtained.


Chinese Civil War

In 1945, Li was placed in charge of the CCP delegation office in Beiping (later known as Beijing), and was concurrently appointed head of the Central Military Commission Intelligence Department and deputy director of the SAD, under
Kang Sheng Kang Sheng (; 4 November 1898 – 16 December 1975), born Zhang Zongke (), was a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official, politician and calligrapher best known for having overseen the work of the CCP's internal security and intelligence appara ...
. In 1947 Li became a member of the Central Committee's Rear Area Commission. During the
Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...
, Li Kenong continued to personally take charge of decoding intelligence. Agents under Li's direction achieved great success with planting moles inside the numerous KMT forces and agencies. Because of Li's work, KMT messages were deciphered and read by Communist commanders, sometimes before being sent to KMT army commanders on the battlefield. On August 9, 1949, the SAD was formally abolished: after the establishment of the PRC on October 1, 1949, the SAD's internal security and domestic counter-intelligence work was assigned to the Ministry of Public Security, headed by General Luo Ruiqing. Li Kenong continued to serve as head of a reconstituted political and military intelligence apparatus, following instructions from Mao indicating that "Li Kenong will look after Li Kenong's business." Li became Secretary of the Central Committee's Intelligence Commission, a Deputy
Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
, and Director of the General Intelligence Department.


After 1949

After the establishment of the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, Li was appointed Director of the Liaison Department attached to the General Intelligence Department of the Central Military Commission, thus overseeing foreign intelligence. In July 1951, Li represented the People's Republic of China at the Panmunjom Peace Talks in Korea as the leader of the joint PRC-
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
n delegation. In 1953 Li was appointed as a Deputy Chief of Staff in the
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...
. In 1954 Li became a member of the Chinese government's delegation to the Geneva Talks. In 1955 Li was made Colonel-General in the PLA and Director of the CCP Central Investigation Department, which consolidated all Chinese foreign intelligence efforts into one central department. In recognition of his long service, in 1956 Li was elected to full membership of the CCP Central Committee.


Death

Li suffered a debilitating stroke in October 1959. After his stroke, Li was not seen in public again, except for once in 1960. Li Kenong died on February 9, 1962.


References


Citations


Sources

* *''Zhongyang Weiyuan: Central Committee Members from the First Through the Fifteenth Party Congresses'' (in Chinese; Peking: Central Documentary Publishers, June 2001) *''Biography of Luo Ruiqing'' (in Chinese; Peking: Dangdai Zhongguo Chubanshe, 1996); *Matthew Brazil, "China" in ''The Encyclopedia of Intelligence and Counterintelligence'' (ME Sharpe, 2004) *''Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China.'' Retrieved at . {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Kenong 1899 births 1962 deaths Chinese people of World War II People's Liberation Army generals from Anhui Chinese diplomats People from Chaohu People's Republic of China politicians from Anhui Chinese Communist Party politicians from Anhui Chinese spies Members of the 8th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Politicians from Hefei Burials at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery