Central Case Examination Group
Encyclopedia
The Central Case Examination Group (CCEG) was a special organization established in the People's Republic of China
in 1966 under the aegis of the Politburo Standing Committee to persecute those accused of "anti-party
activities". It was compared by Wang Li
to the Soviet Cheka
, but he noted that the CCEG had even broader powers. (Schoenhals, 1996). Its members included nearly all of the members of the Cultural Revolution Group
, with which the CCEG worked closely during its investigations.
, Luo Ruiqing
, Lu Dingyi
and Yang Shangkun
. When it was found that there was a need for analysis of other cases, the committee was retained under a new name, and soon achieved a permanence as a central institution.
decade and beyond, investigating and reporting on the crimes of many of the members of the higher echelons of the Communist Party of CHina
(CCP) and all people considered to be counterrevolutionary
. The group's highest profile case was that of Liu Shaoqi
, whose case was reportedly investigated by 400,000 people (including some Red Guards
from Peking University), looking at over four million files. The findings of the CCEG on Liu Shaoqi were compiled into a seventy-four page report to be considered by the Twelfth Plenum of the Central Committee of the CCP that met in October 1968. It was at this plenum that Liu Shaoqi was officially expelled from the CCP.
The CCEG's membership included most of the membership of the Cultural Revolution Group and Zhou Enlai
, with Mao Zedong
's wife Jiang Qing
taking a particularly active role in the building of cases against individuals. In addition, other members included Wang Dongxing
and Ye Qun
, the wife of Lin Biao
.
The CCEG was responsible to the Politburo Standing Committee, and wielded significant power in the realm of public security. It took the decisions to arrest, torture and imprison suspected 'revisionist' elements. For example, at the time of Twelfth Plenum in October 1968, 88 fully fledged or 'alternate' members of the CC were under CCEG investigation.
By autumn 1967, the CCEG had become too large an operation for its existing structure, and so the group was subdivided into a First Office and a Second Office. The First Office, led by Wang Dongxing
, took responsibility for the cases from the initial phases of the Cultural Revolution, including cases surrounding Peng Zhen
and his supporters. The Second Office, led by Yang Chengwu
and (following Yang's demise in March 1968) General Huang Yongsheng, was solely concerned with the cases of members of the military. It took over several cases of senior PLA soldiers, including that of Marshal He Long
. In 1968, a Third Office was established under Xie Fuzhi
to investigate the May 16th Conspiracy, involving some members of the Cultural Revolution Group. The Third Office would later take on other cases of conspiracy groups.
Although there were suggestions that the CCEG should be dissolved at the same time as the Cultural Revolution Group, in 1969, it was retained as an institution for the remainder of the Cultural Revolution decade, continuing its investigative role. In 1970, the group started to examine the case against Chen Boda
(who by this point had fallen from political favour), and in 1971 the CCEG also began to investigate Lin Biao. In 1975, in an effort to bring the Cultural Revolution to a close, Mao ordered that the CCEG conclude its major cases swiftly and release of some prisoners. This led to the release of around 300 prisoners in the middle of 1975.
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
in 1966 under the aegis of the Politburo Standing Committee to persecute those accused of "anti-party
Party
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, or recreation. A party will typically feature food and beverages, and often music and dancing as well....
activities". It was compared by Wang Li
Wang Li
Wang Li , or Wang Liaoyi , was a Chinese linguist.Born into a poor but educated family in Bobai , Yulin, Guangxi, he was largely self-taught before entering the Tsinghua University in 1927. There he was taught by Yuen Ren Chao and Liang Qichao, among others. Encouraged by Chao, he went to Paris to...
to the Soviet Cheka
Cheka
Cheka was the first of a succession of Soviet state security organizations. It was created by a decree issued on December 20, 1917, by Vladimir Lenin and subsequently led by aristocrat-turned-communist Felix Dzerzhinsky...
, but he noted that the CCEG had even broader powers. (Schoenhals, 1996). Its members included nearly all of the members of the Cultural Revolution Group
Cultural Revolution Group
The Cultural Revolution Group was formed in May 1966 as a replacement organisation to the Central Committee Secretariat and the "Five Man Group", and was initially directly responsible to the Standing Committee of the Politburo...
, with which the CCEG worked closely during its investigations.
Background
The precursor to the CCEG was the Special Case Examination Committee, an organ established by the Politburo in May 1966 to investigate the political offences of Peng ZhenPeng Zhen
Peng Zhen was a leading member of the Communist Party of China.-Biography:Born in Houma , Peng was originally named Fu Maogong....
, Luo Ruiqing
Luo Ruiqing
-Biography:Luo Ruiqing was born in Nanchong, Sichuan in 1906. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1928. He was the eldest son of a wealthy landlord named Luo Chunting , who had a total of six kids...
, Lu Dingyi
Lu Dingyi
Lu Dingyi was a former leader of the Communist Party of China. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China and before the Cultural Revolution, he was credited as one of the top officials in socialist culture.-Biography:...
and Yang Shangkun
Yang Shangkun
Yang Shangkun was President of the People's Republic of China from 1988 to 1993, and was permanent Vice-chair of the Central Military Commission...
. When it was found that there was a need for analysis of other cases, the committee was retained under a new name, and soon achieved a permanence as a central institution.
Role in the Cultural Revolution
Unlike its counterpart the Cultural Revolution Group, the CCEG was to operate throughout the entire of the Cultural RevolutionCultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
decade and beyond, investigating and reporting on the crimes of many of the members of the higher echelons of the Communist Party of CHina
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
(CCP) and all people considered to be counterrevolutionary
Counterrevolutionary
A counter-revolutionary is anyone who opposes a revolution, particularly those who act after a revolution to try to overturn or reverse it, in full or in part...
. The group's highest profile case was that of Liu Shaoqi
Liu Shaoqi
Liu Shaoqi was a Chinese revolutionary, statesman, and theorist. He was Chairman of the People's Republic of China, China's head of state, from 27 April 1959 to 31 October 1968, during which he implemented policies of economic reconstruction in China...
, whose case was reportedly investigated by 400,000 people (including some Red Guards
Red Guards (China)
Red Guards were a mass movement of civilians, mostly students and other young people in the People's Republic of China , who were mobilized by Mao Zedong in 1966 and 1967, during the Cultural Revolution.-Origins:...
from Peking University), looking at over four million files. The findings of the CCEG on Liu Shaoqi were compiled into a seventy-four page report to be considered by the Twelfth Plenum of the Central Committee of the CCP that met in October 1968. It was at this plenum that Liu Shaoqi was officially expelled from the CCP.
The CCEG's membership included most of the membership of the Cultural Revolution Group and Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976...
, with Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
's wife Jiang Qing
Jiang Qing
Jiang Qing was the pseudonym that was used by Chinese leader Mao Zedong's last wife and major Communist Party of China power figure. She went by the stage name Lan Ping during her acting career, and was known by various other names during her life...
taking a particularly active role in the building of cases against individuals. In addition, other members included Wang Dongxing
Wang Dongxing
Wang Dongxing was Mao Zedong's principal bodyguard during the Cultural Revolution....
and Ye Qun
Ye Qun
Ye Qun was the wife of Lin Biao , the Vice-Chairman of China who controlled China's military power. She was mostly known for taking care of politics for her husband. She died with her husband and son in the plane crash over Mongolia on September 13, 1971...
, the wife of Lin Biao
Lin Biao
Lin Biao was a major Chinese Communist military leader who was pivotal in the communist victory in the Chinese Civil War, especially in Northeastern China...
.
The CCEG was responsible to the Politburo Standing Committee, and wielded significant power in the realm of public security. It took the decisions to arrest, torture and imprison suspected 'revisionist' elements. For example, at the time of Twelfth Plenum in October 1968, 88 fully fledged or 'alternate' members of the CC were under CCEG investigation.
By autumn 1967, the CCEG had become too large an operation for its existing structure, and so the group was subdivided into a First Office and a Second Office. The First Office, led by Wang Dongxing
Wang Dongxing
Wang Dongxing was Mao Zedong's principal bodyguard during the Cultural Revolution....
, took responsibility for the cases from the initial phases of the Cultural Revolution, including cases surrounding Peng Zhen
Peng Zhen
Peng Zhen was a leading member of the Communist Party of China.-Biography:Born in Houma , Peng was originally named Fu Maogong....
and his supporters. The Second Office, led by Yang Chengwu
Yang Chengwu
Yang Chengwu , alias Yang Nengjun was a general of the People's Republic of China. He was also a Proletarian Revolutionist and a military strategist of the People's Liberation Army....
and (following Yang's demise in March 1968) General Huang Yongsheng, was solely concerned with the cases of members of the military. It took over several cases of senior PLA soldiers, including that of Marshal He Long
He Long
He Long was a Chinese military leader. He rose to the rank of Marshal and Vice Premier after the founding of the People's Republic of China.-Early life:He Long was a member of the Tujia ethnic group...
. In 1968, a Third Office was established under Xie Fuzhi
Xie Fuzhi
Xie Fuzhi was a Communist Party of China military commander, political commissar, and national security specialist. He was born in 1909 in Hong'an County, Hubei and died in Beijing in 1972. He was married to Liu Xiangping...
to investigate the May 16th Conspiracy, involving some members of the Cultural Revolution Group. The Third Office would later take on other cases of conspiracy groups.
Although there were suggestions that the CCEG should be dissolved at the same time as the Cultural Revolution Group, in 1969, it was retained as an institution for the remainder of the Cultural Revolution decade, continuing its investigative role. In 1970, the group started to examine the case against Chen Boda
Chen Boda
Chen Boda was born in 1904 in Hui'an and died on 20 September 1989 in Beijing.He was a member of the Chinese Communist Party, a secretary to Mao Zedong and a prominent member of the leadership during the Cultural Revolution, chairing the Cultural Revolution Group.-Early life:Chen Boda was born...
(who by this point had fallen from political favour), and in 1971 the CCEG also began to investigate Lin Biao. In 1975, in an effort to bring the Cultural Revolution to a close, Mao ordered that the CCEG conclude its major cases swiftly and release of some prisoners. This led to the release of around 300 prisoners in the middle of 1975.
Dissolution
The last case assigned to the CCEG was the case of the 'Gang of Four'. Jiang Qing, once an active member of the CCEG, came under investigation by the very apparatus she had been involved in. After completing its analysis of the 'Gang of Four' case, the Central Case Examination Group was formally dissolved after thirteen years of operation at the Eleventh Central Committee's Third Plenum, held in December 1978.See also
- Cultural RevolutionCultural RevolutionThe Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
- Jiang QingJiang QingJiang Qing was the pseudonym that was used by Chinese leader Mao Zedong's last wife and major Communist Party of China power figure. She went by the stage name Lan Ping during her acting career, and was known by various other names during her life...
- Cultural Revolution GroupCultural Revolution GroupThe Cultural Revolution Group was formed in May 1966 as a replacement organisation to the Central Committee Secretariat and the "Five Man Group", and was initially directly responsible to the Standing Committee of the Politburo...
- Lin BiaoLin BiaoLin Biao was a major Chinese Communist military leader who was pivotal in the communist victory in the Chinese Civil War, especially in Northeastern China...
- Chen BodaChen BodaChen Boda was born in 1904 in Hui'an and died on 20 September 1989 in Beijing.He was a member of the Chinese Communist Party, a secretary to Mao Zedong and a prominent member of the leadership during the Cultural Revolution, chairing the Cultural Revolution Group.-Early life:Chen Boda was born...