Wu Nansheng (; August 1922 – 10 April 2018) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and reformist politician. A stalwart proponent of the

reform and opening Reform and opening-up ( zh, s=改革开放, p=Gǎigé kāifàng), also known as the Chinese economic reform or Chinese economic miracle, refers to a variety of economic reforms termed socialism with Chinese characteristics and socialist market ...

policy after the end of 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 proposed the establishment of

free trade zone A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re- exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject t ...

s in his native

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

Province. He served as

Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary A Party Committee Secretary () is the leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organization in a province, city, village, or other administrative unit. In most cases, it is the ''de facto'' highest political office of its area of jurisdictio ...

and Mayor of

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

and spearheaded the early development of the nascent

special economic zone A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...

. He later served as Chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) from 1985 to 1993.

Early life and career

Wu was born in August 1922 in Chaoyang County (now Chaoyang District of

Shantou Shantou, Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized as Swatow and sometimes known as Santow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong, China, with a total population of 5,502,031 as of the 20 ...

Province. He joined the Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army in October 1936, and 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 April 1937. He served in the local party committee in eastern Guangdong during most 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 ...

, and went to study at the CCP

Central Party School The Central Party School is a higher education institution that trains Chinese Communist Party (CCP) cadres. It is located in Haidian, Beijing, close to Summer Palace and Old Summer Palace. The current president is Chen Xi, a former member o ...

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 ...

in 1944. After the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

at the end of World War II, he was sent to work in

Jilin ) , image_skyline = Changbaishan Tianchi from western rim.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = View of Heaven Lake , image_map = Jilin in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_al ...

Province in the former Japanese puppet state of

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...

. When 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 ...

took over South China in 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 ...

, Wu was appointed vice-mayor of

Nanchang Nanchang is the capital of Jiangxi, China. Located in the north-central part of the province and in the hinterland of Poyang Lake Plain, it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east by Poyang Lake. Because of its strate ...

, the capital of

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 ...

Province, in 1949. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Wu served as CCP Deputy Committee Secretary of his hometown

and deputy party secretary of

Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...

Prefecture. After 1955 he worked in the South China division and then the South-Central division of the CCP Central Committee. When the

began in 1966, he was dismissed from his positions, but was politically rehabilitated in 1971.

Reform and opening

After the end of the Cultural Revolution, Wu was appointed Chinese Communist Party Deputy Committee Secretary of Guangdong Province in 1977, and then CCP Committee Secretary in 1978, serving under

Xi Zhongxun Xi Zhongxun ( Chinese: 习仲勋; pinyin: ''Xí Zhòngxūn;'' 15 October 1913 – 24 May 2002) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and politician who played a significant role in the history of the People's Republic of China. He served ...

, the First Secretary of the province. He was a stalwart supporter of the

policy. When he visited Shantou in 1979 after decades of absence, he was so appalled by the terrible living standards in his hometown that he thought the conditions were comparable to those during the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

period which had motivated him to become a Communist in the 1930s. In an interview with official media, he said that Shantou was still a prosperous trading city in the early Communist era, not much behind Hong Kong in development. But thirty years later, Shantou had grown poorer while Hong Kong's economy had taken off. He was convinced that economic reform was the only way forward. Wu proposed the establishment of a

in Shantou to resuscitate its economy, an idea endorsed by Xi Zhongxun, who lobbied the national government for more economic freedom for the entire province. Partly because of their effort, Beijing decided to establish the

(SEZ) of

. Wu served as Director of the Guangdong SEZ Administration Committee from May 1980 to July 1983, and was concurrently the CCP Committee Secretary and Mayor of Shenzhen from September 1980 to March 1981, spearheading the early development of the nascent city. He was succeeded by Liang Xiang. In September 1985, Wu was appointed Chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Fifth

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s United front (China), united front system. Its members adv ...

(CPPCC) and served a second term until January 1993. After his retirement from leadership positions, he focused on raising funds for

Project Hope Project Hope (希望工程; ''Xiwang gongcheng'') is a Chinese public service project organized by the China Youth Development Foundation (CYDF) and the Communist Youth League (CYL) Central Committee. Started in 1989, it aims to bring schools i ...

to build schools in poverty-stricken rural areas.

Retirement and death

Wu retired in September 2004. He died on 10 April 2018 in

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

, at the age of 95.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Nansheng 1922 births 2018 deaths People's Republic of China politicians from Guangdong Chinese Communist Party politicians from Guangdong Political office-holders in Guangdong Politicians from Shantou Political office-holders in Jiangxi Chairpersons of the CPPCC Guangdong Provincial Committee