Rong Yiren (; May 1, 1916 – October 26, 2005) was the

Vice President of China The vice president of China, officially titled the vice president of the People's Republic of China, is the deputy to the president of the People's Republic of China, the List of state representatives of the People's Republic of China, state r ...

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 various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...

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 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 ...

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. 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 ...

Biography

Early life

Rong was born on May 1, 1916, in

Wuxi Wuxi ( zh, s=无锡, p=Wúxī, ) is a city in southern Jiangsu, China. As of the 2024 census, it had a population of 7,495,000. The city lies in the southern Yangtze delta and borders Lake Tai. Notable landmarks include Lihu Park, the Mt. Lings ...

, a city near

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

in Jiangsu Province. His father Rong Desheng and uncle Rong Zongjing were the founders and operators of a

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

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 ...

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,

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, 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 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 ...

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

Chinese mainland "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addition to the g ...

instead of fleeing to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

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 a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

adviser for the

Cultural Revolution

During the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

, 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 The Red Guards () were a mass, student-led, paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 until their abolition in 1968, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a ...

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

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...

. 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 cleaner, cleanser or cleaning operative is a type of Industry (economics), industrial or domestic worker who is tasked with cleaning a space. A janitor (Scotland, United States and Canada), also known as a custodian, Facility Operator, porter ...

. However, he and his family received protection from

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 ...

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 also Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Teng Hsiao-p'ing; born Xiansheng (). (22 August 190419 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's R ...

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 within China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsuccessful attempts between t ...

, 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. According to Hurun Report, he was one of the wealthiest people in mainland China, ...

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. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

of CITIC Pacific. 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 Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

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 (: wives) is a woman in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until their marriage is legally dissolved with a divorce judgment; or until death, depending on the kind of marriage. On t ...

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 P ...

died 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''. He married Yang Jianqing () in 1937. Yang died on January 8, 2014, in

. His daughter-in-law Catherine Yam Yung is the cousin of Juliana Yam.

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 Vice chairpersons of the National People's Congress Vice chairpersons of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference