Wang Shiming

Wang Shiming (; 1896 – 1977), also known as Wang Xinqui and Zhang Ping, was a Chinese politician, military officer, and academic. A native of Tongcheng, Anhui Province, he was associated with the China Democratic Socialist Party and later the China Democratic League. He served as a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and was elected as a delegate to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd National People's Congress.

Biography

After graduating from Tsinghua School, Wang pursued further studies in the United States, where he attended the Virginia Military Institute and later undertook graduate studies at Columbia University. Upon returning to China, he served as a regimental commander in the Northeast Army and later became a professor at Hunan University. He subsequently held the position of major general and director within the Foreign Affairs Bureau of the Military Affairs Commission of the Nationalist Government.

In 1932, Wang joined the China Democratic Socialist Party (originally known as the National Socialist Party of China). In 1944, he became a member of the China Democratic League and went on to serve in several leadership roles within the organization, including as a member of its first and second central committees and as a standing committee member of its third central committee. He also served as deputy director of the Supervisory Committee at the League's headquarters. In 1947, he participated in organizing the reformist faction within the China Democratic Socialist Party and was one of its leading figures.

In 1948, Wang relocated to Hong Kong. In response to the Chinese Communist Party's "May First Call" in 1948, he took part in political consultations and, in 1949, attended the First Plenary Session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference as a specially invited delegate. He subsequently served as a counsellor in the Government Administration Council of the Central People's Government.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Wang was elected as a delegate to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd National People's Congress. He remained active in political advisory roles and united front work during the early decades of the PRC. He died in 1977.