Gong Weizhen

Gong Weizhen (; January 1912 – May 2002), courtesy name Weizhen, originally named Gong Qinjing , was a Chinese politician and revolutionary figure from Laiyang, Shandong. He served in various senior positions in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the government of Jiangsu, including vice governor of Jiangsu and vice chairperson of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Biography

Gong was born in January 1912 in a poor peasant family in Laiyang, Shandong. He received a traditional private education before continuing to modern schooling and later worked as a primary school teacher. In the early 1930s, he studied in Beiping (now Beijing), where he became involved in patriotic student movements, including the December 9th Movement. During this period, he joined the Chinese Communist Party and the National Liberation Vanguard Corps.

Following the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, Gong returned to his hometown and organized anti-Japanese resistance activities in Laiyang and surrounding areas. He played an important role in mobilizing local populations and establishing grassroots organizations. In 1938, he participated in armed uprisings that contributed to the formation of anti-Japanese forces in Shandong. Due to his performance, he was transferred to work in the Jiaodong region, where he successively served as secretary of the CCP Huang County Special Branch and county party secretary.

During the war years, Gong held several leadership positions in the Jiaodong base area, including propaganda chief of the Beihai Special Committee and political director of the Penglai–Huang County war zone. He also served as president of the Jiaodong Party School and held senior posts in the organization and publicity departments. He made significant contributions to consolidating anti-Japanese base areas and strengthening political mobilization under difficult wartime conditions.

During the Chinese Civil War, Gong was transferred in 1947 to the Donghai region, where he served as deputy secretary and later secretary of the regional party committee, as well as political commissar of the military sub-district. He oversaw land reform, reduction of rents and interest rates, and mobilization of peasants to support the war effort, which significantly strengthened the CCP's rural base.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Gong was appointed secretary of the Suzhou Prefectural Committee, where he was responsible for restoring social order and reviving the economy in the newly liberated city. He later served as secretary of the Wuxi Municipal Committee and political commissar of the Wuxi Garrison. In the 1950s, he held a series of important provincial posts, including director of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Industry, head of the United Front Work Department of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee, and vice governor of Jiangsu.

In the following decades, Gong also worked in higher education administration, serving as party secretary of Jilin University of Technology and later holding leadership roles at Jilin University and Nanjing Normal College. During the Cultural Revolution, he was subjected to political persecution but remained steadfast. After 1977, he returned to leadership positions in Jiangsu, serving as director of the provincial Education and Health Office, member of the CCP Jiangsu Provincial Committee Standing Committee, and executive vice governor. He was also elected vice chairperson of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Gong retired from active leadership in 1982 and later served as an advisor to the Jiangsu provincial government. Gong died in May 2002 in Nanjing.