Wu Leng-hsi

1915

China

Wu’s rise in the Journalists' Association was paralleled by his climb up the hierarchical ladder in the NCNA, the official news agency subordinate to the Government Administration Council (the cabinet, known as the State Council after 1954). By the latter part of 1949 he was serving as editor-in-chief of the NCNA, and then in December 1950 he was promoted to the post of deputy director. Two years later (December 1952) he was elevated to the directorship, a post he continues to hold. Beginning in 1952 Wu made several trips abroad for the PRC. In December 1952 he was a member of a large delegation led by Sung Ch’ing-ling (Mme. Sun Yat-sen) to the World Peace Congress in Vienna, and in April 1953 he led a cultural delegation to Poland. But his first significant trip did not occur until April 1954 when he accompanied Premier Chou En-lai to the Geneva Conference, which brought about the French withdrawal from Indochina. Wu’s position was that of “adviser” to Chou. Seven years later, in May 1961, Wu was again in Geneva on this occasion as a member of Foreign Minister Ch'en Fs delegation to the conference to settle the conflict in Laos. (Although the conference lasted for over a year, Ch'en returned to Peking in July, taking Wu with him.) While he was in Geneva in 1961, Wu served as the ranking spokesman for the delegation, giving several press conferences to the huge gathering of newsmen. Wu's two other trips abroad took place in 1963 and 1964, in October-November 1963 he was in North Korea as head of a JMJP delegation and in February 1964 he led a similar group to North Vietnam. During the period from the mid-1950’s to the early 1960,s, Wu received several new governmental and semi-official positions, as well as highly important posts within the CCP. In May 1954 he was named to membership on the Board of Directors of the mass organization known as the Chinese People’s Association for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, a position he probably still retains. When a governmental counterpart (the Commission for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries) was established four years later, Wu was named to membership there also (March 1958). He was elected a Tientsin deputy to the First NPC (1954-1959) but was switched to representation from Kwangtung for the Second NPC (19591964) and for the Third NPC, which held its first session in December 1964-January 1965, at the close of this session he was elevated to membership on the NPC Standing Committee. Five other posts of minor importance which Wu probably still retains are: member, Board of Directors, Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs, July 1955, member, Committee for the Popularization of Standard Spoken Chinese (p'u- t’ung-hua) February 1956, member, Standing Committee, China Peace Committee, July 1958, president, Institute of Journalism for Training Red and Expert Personnel, October 1958 (a school begun at the peak of the Great Leap Forward) and vice-president, China-Latin America Friendship Association, March 1960. These posts were peripheral to two important new assignments: editor-in-chief of the JMJP and a deputy director of the Party Propaganda Department. He was named to the editorship of the JMJP in November 1957, replacing Teng T'o, who was transferred to the post of Managing Director of the JMJP, thus Wu was placed in charge of the daily operations of China's leading newspaper and its leading news agency. He was first identified in the Party propaganda post in September 1964. As one of China's most senior Party journalists, Wu is very frequently on hand to entertain foreign journalists and propagandists who visit China. Perhaps the most significant of these occasions occurred when the Communist-backed International Organization of Journalists held a conference in Peking in April 1957 a meeting at which Wu served as one of the Chinese delegates. The prestige of Wu's name and offices has also been used in forming a number of ad hoc committees to mark significant occasions. For example, he served on the presidium for a meeting in September 1959 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the PRC, he also served the presidium in September 1961 for festivities commemorating the 80th birthday of Lu Hsun, modern China’s greatest writer. Similarly, he makes frequent appearances at nationwide conferences which involve journalistic interests, he served on the preparatory committee, for example, for a national conference of uadvanced cultural and educational workers held in June 1960.

Wu Leng-hsi

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editor-in-chief CCP member

Education

Wu Leng-hsi was educated locally.

Career

Wu’s rise in the Journalists' Association was paralleled by his climb up the hierarchical ladder in the NCNA, the official news agency subordinate to the Government Administration Council (the cabinet, known as the State Council after 1954). By the latter part of 1949 he was serving as editor-in-chief of the NCNA, and then in December 1950 he was promoted to the post of deputy director. Two years later (December 1952) he was elevated to the directorship, a post he continues to hold.

Beginning in 1952 Wu made several trips abroad for the PRC. In December 1952 he was a member of a large delegation led by Sung Ch’ing-ling (Mme. Sun Yat-sen) to the World Peace Congress in Vienna, and in April 1953 he led a cultural delegation to Poland. But his first significant trip did not occur until April 1954 when he accompanied Premier Chou En-lai to the Geneva Conference, which brought about the French withdrawal from Indochina. Wu’s position was that of “adviser” to Chou. Seven years later, in May 1961, Wu was again in Geneva on this occasion as a member of Foreign Minister Ch'en Fs delegation to the conference to settle the conflict in Laos. (Although the conference lasted for over a year, Ch'en returned to Peking in July, taking Wu with him.) While he was in Geneva in 1961, Wu served as the ranking spokesman for the delegation, giving several press conferences to the huge gathering of newsmen. Wu's two other trips abroad took place in 1963 and 1964, in October-November 1963 he was in North Korea as head of a JMJP delegation and in February 1964 he led a similar group to North Vietnam.

During the period from the mid-1950’s to the early 1960,s, Wu received several new governmental and semi-official positions, as well as highly important posts within the CCP. In May 1954 he was named to membership on the Board of Directors of the mass organization known as the Chinese People’s Association for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, a position he probably still retains. When a governmental counterpart (the Commission for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries) was established four years later, Wu was named to membership there also (March 1958). He was elected a Tientsin deputy to the First NPC (1954-1959) but was switched to representation from Kwangtung for the Second NPC (19591964) and for the Third NPC, which held its first session in December 1964-January 1965, at the close of this session he was elevated to membership on the NPC Standing Committee. Five other posts of minor importance which Wu probably still retains are: member, Board of Directors, Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs, July 1955, member, Committee for the Popularization of Standard Spoken Chinese (p'u- t’ung-hua) February 1956, member, Standing Committee, China Peace Committee, July 1958, president, Institute of Journalism for Training Red and Expert Personnel, October 1958 (a school begun at the peak of the Great Leap Forward) and vice-president, China-Latin America Friendship Association, March 1960. These posts were peripheral to two important new assignments: editor-in-chief of the JMJP and a deputy director of the Party Propaganda Department. He was named to the editorship of the JMJP in November 1957, replacing Teng T'o, who was transferred to the post of Managing Director of the JMJP, thus Wu was placed in charge of the daily operations of China's leading newspaper and its leading news agency. He was first identified in the Party propaganda post in September 1964.

As one of China's most senior Party journalists, Wu is very frequently on hand to entertain foreign journalists and propagandists who visit China. Perhaps the most significant of these occasions occurred when the Communist-backed International Organization of Journalists held a conference in Peking in April 1957 a meeting at which Wu served as one of the Chinese delegates. The prestige of Wu's name and offices has also been used in forming a number of ad hoc committees to mark significant occasions. For example, he served on the presidium for a meeting in September 1959 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the PRC, he also served the presidium in September 1961 for festivities commemorating the 80th birthday of Lu Hsun, modern China’s greatest writer. Similarly, he makes frequent appearances at nationwide conferences which involve journalistic interests, he served on the preparatory committee, for example, for a national conference of uadvanced cultural and educational workers held in June 1960.

Politics

One of the first mass organizations which the Communists established was the All-China Journalists’ Association (ACJA). Preparations for this began in July 1949 in Peking, with Wu named as a member of the preparatory committee. When the Association was organized on a permanent basis in September 1954, he was named as one of the four vice-chairmen under Teng T'o. By the fall of 1959 Wu was serving as acting chairman, and at the second national conference of the ACJA in March 1960, he succeeded Teng T’o as chairman.

Wu’s prominence in Party journalistic circles doubtless brings him into close contact with high Party leaders. Indeed, as editor of the Party's daily organ (the JMJP) it would seem mandatory that he have rather intimate ties with and ready access to such people as Lu Ting-i, head of the Propaganda Department and an alternate Politburo member.

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Wu Leng-hsi

Education

Career

Politics

Born

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Political Party

Career

1949

1954 - 1959

1957

May, 1961