Xiang Nan (November 1918 – November 10, 1997, zh, 项南), a native of Liancheng,

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

, is a Chinese politician. He successively served as Secretary of the Anhui Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League, Secretary of the East China Bureau of the Communist Youth League, Secretary of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, First Secretary of the Fujian Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, and First Political Commissar of the Fujian Military District.

Biography

Xiang Nan originated from an agrarian family. Influenced from a young age by his revolutionary father, Xiang Yunnian, he held the position of junior Pioneers' leader in Wenfang village. He became a member of 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) in 1938 and, after traversing several resistance locations during the onset of the Anti-Japanese War, reached the

New Fourth Army The New Fourth Army (N4A) () was a military unit nominally under the banner of the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Republic of China, established in 1937 as part of the Second United Front against Japan. However, in practice, the New ...

Headquarters in

Yancheng Yancheng (), formerly known as Yandu, is a prefecture-level city in the eastern coastal Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. As the city with the largest jurisdictional area in Jiangsu, Yancheng borders Lianyungang to the north, Huai' ...

in the spring of 1941. In September 1941, he was designated as the inaugural Head of the Finance Section of the Jianyang County government, significantly contributing to the establishment of anti-Japanese governance and the dismantling of the Japanese-imposed economic embargo. He additionally held the positions of Secretary and Publicity Minister of the Fudong County CCP Committee. 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 ...

, Xiang Nan served as the Finance Director of the Salt-Fu 5th and 11th Sub-districts, and in February 1949, he was tasked with establishing new revolutionary zones in central Anhui. Subsequent to 1949, he occupied many roles, including Secretary of the Anhui Provincial Youth League, Secretary of the East China Bureau of the Youth League, and Secretary of the Central Youth Affairs Secretariat. He subsequently returned to

, assuming the roles of First Secretary of the Fujian Provincial Committee and Political Commissar of the Fujian Provincial Military District. During his tenure as head of the Fujian Provincial CCP Committee, he promoted the utilization of terrestrial and maritime resources, supervising significant infrastructure initiatives including Xiamen International Airport, Shuikou Hydropower Station, and the implementation of automatic exchange telephone systems—altering the province's developmental framework. Since 1980, he occupied significant positions such as Provincial CCP Secretary, Chairman of the Fujian Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee, and Military Commissar, and was elected to the 12th CCP Central Committee and the

6th National People's Congress The 6th National People's Congress (NPC) was in session from 1983 to 1988. It held five sessions in this period. Background This new Congress was the first under the current 1982 Constitution, and the first to be elected under the rules of th ...

. In 1984, Xiang advocated for the expansion of the Xiamen Special Economic Zone to include the entire island and supported the opening of additional coastal cities, both of which received immediate approval from the central government. Subsequently, he held the position of President of the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation and various other social organizations. He was elected to the Central Advisory Commission at the 13th Party Congress and served as a delegate at the 14th and 15th Party Congresses. Xiang Nan died in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

on November 10, 1997.

Family

He is survived by his wife, Wang Zhixin, a retired cadre and former Director of the Education, Science, Culture and Health Committee of the Fujian Provincial People's Congress, and his daughter Xiang Xiaomi, a member of the

China Writers Association The China Writers Association (CWA) is a subordinate people's organization of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles (CFLAC). Founded in July 1949, the organization was initially named the China National Literature Workers Association. ...

. His father, , was an early member of the CCP and a participant in

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 ...

’s

Central Special Branch The Central Special Branch (), often shortened to ''Teke''; sometimes written Special Services Section (SSS), was the Intelligence agency, intelligence and counter-intelligence agency of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, Cent ...

References

{{Fujian leaders 1918 births 1997 deaths Members of the 12th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Delegates to the 6th National People's Congress Members of the Central Advisory Commission Party Secretaries of Fujian Delegates to the 14th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party Chinese Communist Party politicians from Fujian