Liu Tianfu

Liu Tianfu (; October 1908 – 21 April 2002) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and politician. He was a leader of the East River Column, an anti-Japanese guerrilla force in Guangdong during the Second Sino-Japanese War. From 1981 to 1983 he served as Governor of Guangdong, where he was a strong supporter of economic reform and worked to exonerate Guangdong cadres who had been unjustly punished during the "anti-localism movement" in the 1950s.

Early life and wartime career Liu was born in Guang'an, Sichuan, in October 1908, during the late Qing dynasty. He joined the Communist Youth League of China in 1934, and participated in anti-Japanese movement in Shanghai. In December 1935, he was arrested by the Kuomintang government for his activities.

After Japan launched a full-scale attack on Shanghai in August 1937 at the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Liu was released and enlisted in the 8th Group Army of the National Revolutionary Army to fight in the war. In May 1939, Liu transferred to Guangdong province, where he helped organize Communist guerrillas to fight the Japanese. also known as the East River Column, commanded by Zeng Sheng. After the Cultural Revolution, when Governor Xi Zhongxun was transferred to Beijing in November 1980, he appointed Liu, then 72 years old, as his successor.

Liu died on 21 April 2002 in Guangzhou, aged 93.