Ye Xuanping

Ye Xuanping (; 20 December 1924 – 17 September 2019) was a Chinese official, who served as Mayor of Guangzhou from 1980 to 1985 and Governor of Guangdong, his native province, from 1985 to 1991. Ye was a strong supporter of Deng Xiaoping's reform and opening up policy. Under his leadership, Guangdong grew economically prosperous and gained significant autonomy from Beijing. Concerned about his power, the national government manoeuvred to relieve him of the governorship, but allowed him to maintain his power base in Guangdong. He subsequently served as Vice-Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference from 1991 to 2003.

Ye was the eldest son of Ye Jianying, one of the founding Ten Marshals of the People's Republic of China, who was instrumental in overthrowing the Gang of Four and ending the Cultural Revolution. After the death of his father, he became the patriarch of their powerful family, dubbed the "Ye Dynasty".

Early life Ye Xuanping was born in November 1924 in Meixian, Guangdong, Republic of China. He was the eldest son of Ye Jianying, who later became one of the founding Ten Marshals of the People's Republic of China. When Xuanping was born, his father was serving as county magistrate of Xiangshan, and he was raised by his mother Feng Hua .

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Ye lived in Yan'an, the headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and did not reunite with his father until 1941. After graduation he worked at Yan'an Arsenal and other factories. In 1977, Xuanping was sent to study at the Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party, and subsequently served as Director of the Third Bureau of the State Science and Technology Commission from 1978 to 1980. A follower of Deng Xiaoping, Following the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre and the fall of Zhao Ziyang, the Ye family's power was believed to have weakened due to its sympathy with Zhao.

Under Ye's leadership, Guangdong grew economically prosperous while gaining significant autonomy from the national government in Beijing, and Hong Kong media dubbed him the "Emperor of the South". The central government, increasingly concerned about his power, manoeuvred to relieve him of the governorship. His younger half brother, Ye Xuanning, served as China's military spy chief. He died in 2016. Another brother, Ye Xuanlian, was a manager of the People's Liberation Army's China Poly Group. His sister, Ye Chumei, is married to Zou Jiahua, a former Vice Premier of China.

Ye Xuanping's son, Ye Xinfu, is a businessman in Hong Kong who founded the conglomerate P W Asia and served as a director of at least 11 companies, including Tse Sui Luen, a major jewellery chain. His grandson, Ye Zhonghao, was appointed head of Guangdong's Yunfu Hi-Tech Industry Development Zone in 2017.