The Zhao Jianmin Spy Case, or Zhao Jianmin Wrong Case, was a major fabricated spy case in Yunnan province during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, with more than 1.387 million people implicated and persecuted, which accounted for 6% of the total population in Yunnan at the time. From 1968-1969, more than 17,000 people died in massacre while 61,000 people were crippled for life; in Kunming alone, 1,473 people were killed and 9,661 people were disabled.
Brief history
In March 1967, Zhao Jianmin, then provincial communist party secretary of Yunnan, suggested to Kang Sheng in person that the Communist Party of China should resolve the issues in Cultural Revolution in a democratic manner, receiving no immediate response from the latter. However, Kang Sheng made a secret report on Zhao to Mao Zedong afterwards, claiming that Zhao was against the Central Committee of CPC, Chairman Mao and the Cultural Revolution. In August 1967, Mao Zedong as well as the Central Committee of CPC approved that the national and local media may publicly criticize "capitalist roaders" among the top provincial officials in China. A total of 55 high-ranking officials were named, including Zhao Jianmin. In 1968, Zhao Jianmin was labelled by Kang Sheng and his allies as "a spy of Kuomintang " as well as "traitor", and was regarded as one of the "local proxies" of Liu Shaoqi, the 2nd President of China who was persecuted to death in 1969 as a "traitor" and "capitalist roader". Zhao was then imprisoned for 8 years. At the same time, a massive search and purge of members of the fabricated "Zhao Jianmin KMT Spy Agency in Yunnan" was carried out, resulting in the arrest and persecution of more than 1.38 million civilians and officials. Tan Furen, a lieutenant general in the People's Liberation Army, was appointed by Mao Zedong and the Central Committee of CPC to take charge of the purge.
Aftermath
On December 17, 1970, Tan Furen and his wife were assassinated. After the Cultural Revolution, Zhao Jianmin was officially rehabilitated during the "Boluan Fanzheng" period and subsequently became a vice director of the Third Ministry of Machine Building.
