Song Ping (original) (raw)

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Chinese communist revolutionary and former politician

For the former Chinese county in modern Vietnam, see Tống Bình.

Song Ping
宋平
Song in 1949
Head of the Organization Department of the Chinese Communist Party
In officeJune 1987 – December 1989
General Secretary	Zhao ZiyangJiang Zemin
Preceded by	Wei Jianxing
Succeeded by	Lu Feng
State Councilor of the People's Republic of China
In officeJune 1983 – April 1988
Premier	Zhao Ziyang
5th Director of the State Planning Commission
In officeJune 1983 – June 1987
Premier	Zhao Ziyang
Preceded by	Yao Yilin
Succeeded by	Yao Yilin
Communist Party Secretary of Gansu
In officeJune 1977 – January 1981
Deputy	Feng Jixin (Governor)
Preceded by	Xian Henghan
Succeeded by	Feng Jixin
Governor of Gansu
In officeJune 1977 – December 1979
Preceded by	Xian Henghan
Succeeded by	Feng Jixin
Personal details
Born	(1917-04-24) 24 April 1917 (age 107)Ju County, Shandong, China
Political party	Chinese Communist Party
Spouse	Chen Shunyao ​(died 2019)​
Children	Song Yichang (son) Song Yichun (son)
Chinese name
Chinese	宋平
TranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinSòng PíngWade–GilesSung P'ing

Song Ping (Chinese: 宋平; born 24 April 1917)[1] is a Chinese Communist revolutionary and a retired high-ranking politician. He was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. Song is considered the only living member of the Second Generation of Chinese Leadership.

He rose through the ranks of the party to become First Party Secretary of Gansu Province, and later Minister of Organization of CCP. Song was in charge of senior cadres' recommendation, candidacy and promotion.[_citation needed_]

During his time as Party Chief of Gansu, Song Ping became mentor of two young protégés – Hu Jintao[2] and Wen Jiabao[_citation needed_] – who were to become the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and the Premier of the Chinese State Council, respectively.[3]

In 1987, Song left the Planning Commission to replace Wei Jianxing as head of the CCP Central Organization Department.[4] Song announced a decision by the Chinese Communist Party to expel members of the communist party who were sympathetic to pro-democracy demonstrations in the spring of 1989.[5] After the Tiananmen Square protests, Song became a member of Politburo Standing Committee with Jiang Zemin and Li Ruihuan.

As a member of more conservative faction within the party, Song stepped down as a member of the Politburo Standing Committee along with another conservative faction member Yao Yilin on 19 October 1992 after 14th Party Congress as a result of Deng Xiaoping's action to put more reformists into PSC.[6]

Song turned 100 in 24 April 2017.[7] Considered instrumental in the rise of former CCP general secretary Hu Jintao, he lately attended the 20th Party Congress at age 105.[8]

1. ^ 周树兴; 李晓平 (1995). 「说道」山东人. 中国社会出版社. ISBN 9787800887031. Archived from the original on 2020-06-04. Retrieved 2016-02-06. 宋平，1917年4月24日出生于山东省莒县。
2. ^ "Who's Hu? Meet this engineer-Prez". IBNLive. IBNLive.com. November 20, 2006. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
3. ^ Yao, Jin (pen name) (November 21, 2001). "Hu Jintao: The Bird that Keeps its Head Down". China Brief (Volume: 1 Issue: 10). The Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
4. ^ Thomson, Robert (June 24, 1987). "Beijing shuffle points to growing Cabinet intrigues". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 18. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
5. ^ "Party to purge its ranks". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 11. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
6. ^ Kristof, Nicholas D. (October 20, 1992). "CHINESE SHAKE UP TOP PARTY GROUP; FREE MARKET GAINS". New York Times. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
7. ^ Song, Chundan (2017-04-24). "中共元老宋平百岁诞辰：目前党内资格最老、退休最久常委". tsinghua.org.cn. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
8. ^ "Party elders attend CPC congress opening; former president Jiang Zemin absent | the Straits Times". The Straits Times. 16 October 2022.