Yang Shangkun

Yang Shangkun joined the Chinese Communist Party's Long March, serving as a political commissar. He survived the arduous retreat from Jiangxi to Yan'an, which solidified his position in the party hierarchy.

Yang Shangkun was appointed Mayor of Tianjin after the Communist takeover. He oversaw the city's transition to Communist rule, including the suppression of counter-revolutionaries and economic reconstruction.

Yang Shangkun was purged and imprisoned for 12 years during the Cultural Revolution, accused of being a counter-revolutionary. He was held in solitary confinement and subjected to harsh treatment.

Yang Shangkun was rehabilitated and elected President of the People's Republic of China, serving until 1993. He was a key figure in the crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.

As President, Yang Shangkun was a member of the Standing Committee that authorized the use of military force to suppress the Tiananmen Square protests. The crackdown resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths.