Ma Wen-jui

1909

Sui-te, China

It is likely that Ma remained in the Shensi area throughout the 1930 because by 1941 he was working with the Shensi-Kansu-Ninghsia (Shen- Kan-Ning) Border Region Government, which had been created in 1937. Though not particularly prominent then, he was a member of the assemblies for the Shen-Kan-Ning Government, and in the early 1940's also took part in Party affairs in Kansu. He attended the First Session of the Second Shen-Kan-Ning Border Region Assembly of November 1941 as a deputy from Ch'ing-yang hsien in Kansu. He also attended the next session of the Second Assembly in 1944, and in April 1946, when the First Session of the Third Border Region Assembly met, he served as a representative of Tzu-chou hsien in Shensi. About this time he also became a member of the People's Supervision Committee under the Shen-Kan- Ning Government. In 1942, coinciding with his term as a Kansu representative in the Border Region Assembly, he was also identified as secretary of the East Kansu District Committee of the CCP organization for the Shen-Kan-Ning area. By at least 1947 Ma had been elevated to the directorship of the Organization Department under the Northwest Party Bureau. From the beginning of the Communist occupation of the mainland in 1949 until the establishment of the constitutional government in 1954, Ma continued to serve with the Northwest Party Bureau, as well as the government administration controlling the northwest provinces, known as the Northwest Military and Administrative Committee (NWMAC). In the Party structure he continued to head the Organization Department of the Northwest Party Bureau until 1954, he concurrently served as secretary of the Women’s Work Committee from 1949 to about 1952, and in 1949 (and probably until 1953) he was also a member of the Northwest Bureau. Tn the period from 1953 to 1954 he was a deputy secretary of the bureau, and then by April 1954 was promoted to third deputy secretary. All these posts were held under Party Secretary Hsi Chung-hsun, also a native of Shensi. In this same period (1950-1953) he was a member of the NWMAC, which was reorganized into the Northwest Administrative Committee (NWAC) early in 1953 (with Ma continuing to serve on the Committee). He also belonged to two other organizations which were part of the NWMAC and its successor, the NWAC. From March 1950 he was chairman of the People's Supervision Committee, and from May 1952 he was a member of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee. Mao's work in the northwest ended in September 1954 when he was transferred to Peking to replace the famed Li Li-san as head of the Ministry of Labor. Li had been a favorite target for Maoist ideologues for many years, but he had an intimate familiarity with the Chinese labor movement, which reached back to the early 1920’s. In contrast, Ma’s previous experience had been with the Party bureaucracy and government administrations in the northwest. Since his arrival in Peking, the Ministry of Labor has been Ma's principal post, and his work there has received a fair amount of press attention. In addition, he has served on the quasi-legislative CPPCC from December 1954 when the Second National Committee was inaugurated. Under the Second (1954-1959) and Third (1959-1964) National Committees of the CPPCC, Ma represented the CCP, but when the Fourth National Committee first met in December 1964, Ma attended as a “specially invited personage.” In the interim he was elected an alternate member of the CCP Central Committee at the Eighth Party Congress in September 1956. As minister of Labor Ma addressed the Third Session of the First NPC in June 1956 on the “defects of the existing wage system.” At the same time he called for better living conditions for workers. This was one of several speeches he has given on labor matters before the NPC and the State Council. In 1956 and 1959 he served on the preparatory committees for the National Conferences of Advanced Workers, and when they were held in April 1956 and October 1959 he was a member of the conference presidiums.

Ma Wen-jui

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politician

Background

Ma was born in Sui-te, a small city not far north of the Communists' wartime capital of Yуnan.

Education

By 1932, when he was 23, Ma was a member of the Special Party Committee for north Shensi, then headed by Ma Ming-fang. In that same year the two Ma’s narrowly escaped arrest in Chia-hsien (some 25 miles northeast of Mi-chih) when a Party “renegade” informed the local authorities of a meeting of the Special Party Committee. Other prominent Communists working in this region during this period include Liu Chih-tan, Liu Lan-t'ao, Chia T'o-fu, Wang Shih-t'ai, and Yen Hung-yen.

Career

It is likely that Ma remained in the Shensi area throughout the 1930 because by 1941 he was working with the Shensi-Kansu-Ninghsia (Shen- Kan-Ning) Border Region Government, which had been created in 1937. Though not particularly prominent then, he was a member of the assemblies for the Shen-Kan-Ning Government, and in the early 1940's also took part in Party affairs in Kansu. He attended the First Session of the Second Shen-Kan-Ning Border Region Assembly of November 1941 as a deputy from Ch'ing-yang hsien in Kansu. He also attended the next session of the Second Assembly in 1944, and in April 1946, when the First Session of the Third Border Region Assembly met, he served as a representative of Tzu-chou hsien in Shensi. About this time he also became a member of the People's Supervision Committee under the Shen-Kan- Ning Government. In 1942, coinciding with his term as a Kansu representative in the Border Region Assembly, he was also identified as secretary of the East Kansu District Committee of the CCP organization for the Shen-Kan-Ning area. By at least 1947 Ma had been elevated to the directorship of the Organization Department under the Northwest Party Bureau.

From the beginning of the Communist occupation of the mainland in 1949 until the establishment of the constitutional government in 1954, Ma continued to serve with the Northwest Party Bureau, as well as the government administration controlling the northwest provinces, known as the Northwest Military and Administrative Committee (NWMAC). In the Party structure he continued to head the Organization Department of the Northwest Party Bureau until 1954, he concurrently served as secretary of the Women’s Work Committee from 1949 to about 1952, and in 1949 (and probably until 1953) he was also a member of the Northwest Bureau. Tn the period from 1953 to 1954 he was a deputy secretary of the bureau, and then by April 1954 was promoted to third deputy secretary. All these posts were held under Party Secretary Hsi Chung-hsun, also a native of Shensi. In this same period (1950-1953) he was a member of the NWMAC, which was reorganized into the Northwest Administrative Committee (NWAC) early in 1953 (with Ma continuing to serve on the Committee). He also belonged to two other organizations which were part of the NWMAC and its successor, the NWAC. From March 1950 he was chairman of the People's Supervision Committee, and from May 1952 he was a member of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee.

Mao's work in the northwest ended in September 1954 when he was transferred to Peking to replace the famed Li Li-san as head of the Ministry of Labor. Li had been a favorite target for Maoist ideologues for many years, but he had an intimate familiarity with the Chinese labor movement, which reached back to the early 1920’s. In contrast, Ma’s previous experience had been with the Party bureaucracy and government administrations in the northwest. Since his arrival in Peking, the Ministry of Labor has been Ma's principal post, and his work there has received a fair amount of press attention. In addition, he has served on the quasi-legislative CPPCC from December 1954 when the Second National Committee was inaugurated. Under the Second (1954-1959) and Third (1959-1964) National Committees of the CPPCC, Ma represented the CCP, but when the Fourth National Committee first met in December 1964, Ma attended as a “specially invited personage.” In the interim he was elected an alternate member of the CCP Central Committee at the Eighth Party Congress in September 1956.

As minister of Labor Ma addressed the Third Session of the First NPC in June 1956 on the “defects of the existing wage system.” At the same time he called for better living conditions for workers. This was one of several speeches he has given on labor matters before the NPC and the State Council. In 1956 and 1959 he served on the preparatory committees for the National Conferences of Advanced Workers, and when they were held in April 1956 and October 1959 he was a member of the conference presidiums.

Politics

In June 1959 Ma made his only trip outside China when he led a group to Poland for the opening ceremonies of the 28th international fair at Poznan. In returning to China the delegation visited in the USSR and had an interview with Premier Khrushchev on June 25.

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Ma Wen-jui

Background

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Born

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Career

1954

1941

1949 - 1953

1959