Yang Side (; 11 December 1921 – 7 September 2018) was a Chinese major general of 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 ...

, and served as Minister of the

Taiwan Affairs Office The Taiwan Affairs Office is an administrative agency under the State Council of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It is responsible for cross-strait relations and sets and implements guidelines and policies related to Taiwan, which is cl ...

of the

Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, officially the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is the Central committee, highest organ when the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, national congress is not ...

Republican era

Yang Side was born on 11 December 1921 in

Tengzhou Tengzhou () is a county-level city of Zaozhuang, Shandong province of the People's Republic of China, and is the site of the feudal vassal State of Teng during the Spring and Autumn period. Tengzhou was likely the birthplace of the philosopher ...

Shandong Province Shandong is a coastal province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural and religious center ...

, to a peasant family. In 1938, he joined 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 ...

as well as 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 ...

. During 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 ...

, Yang held a number of positions including military chief of Shandong's Political Department and deputy minister of the Shandong Military Liaison Department. During the

's Lunan Anti-Japanese campaign, Yang was responsible for contact with the Railway Guerrillas. Using the alias Li Yiming, he infiltrated the 46th Army of the Kuomintang, taking part in battles including the

Laiwu Campaign Laiwu () was a prefecture-level city in central Shandong Province, China. Bordered the provincial capital of Jinan to the north, Zibo to the east and Tai'an to the southwest, it was the smallest prefecture-level city in the province. It had a ...

and the Huaihai Campaign as an intelligence officer from behind enemy lines. During the battle of

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 ...

in April 1949, Yang served in multiple positions including the political commissar of the Fourth Army's garrison in Nanjing.

People's Republic of China

After the founding 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 ...

, Yang Side was involved in the formation of the

People's Liberation Army Air Force The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force () or the People's Air Force (), is the primary aerial warfare service of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAAF controls most of the PLA's air assets, includi ...

, holding the post of a division political commissar. He participated in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. In 1955, Yang received the rank of colonel and was promoted to major general in 1964. He served as Vice Minister of the Liaison Department of the General Political Department, Minister of the Central Taiwan Affairs Office, member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, executive deputy director of the

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

Liaison Committee, among other positions. 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 ...

", Yang Side was persecuted and imprisoned for five years. After China's reform and opening up, Yang was rehabilitated. In May 1986, a cargo plane of Taiwan's

China Airlines China Airlines (CAL; zh, t=中華航空, poj=Tiong-hôa Hâng-khong, p=Zhōnghuá Hángkōng, first=t, c=, s=) is the state-owned flag carrier of the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan). It is one of Taiwan's two major airlines, along with E ...

, flown by the captain Xijue, landed at

Guangzhou Baiyun Airport Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport is an international airport serving Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. The airport codes were inherited from the former Baiyun Airport, and the IATA code is derived from Guangzhou's historical romanization ' ...

. Yang Side negotiated with the Taiwanese authorities in Hong Kong.

Personal life

Yang Side was married twice. In September 1949, he married the East China Field Army column art troupe captain Wang Chengming. During the

, the couple were both persecuted. Yang Side published a memoir of the Cultural Revolution, entitled ''Historic Mission''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yang, Si-de 1921 births 2018 deaths People's Liberation Army generals from Shandong Peking University alumni Chinese Communist Party politicians from Shandong Chinese military personnel of World War II