Li Tsung-jen

From Wiki China org cn

On August 13, 1891, Li Tsung-jen was born in Lingui County, Guilin City, Guangxi. He joined the Kuomintang in 1923 and was appointed Commander of the first army group of the Guangxi Army by Sun Yat-sen. He was elected as the vice-president of the Republic of China in April 1948.

In December of 1949, Li flew to the United States and Chiang Kai-shek relieved Li of the position as vice-president in 1954, because of their different political views.

In April of 1955, Premier Zhou Enlai announced at the Bandung Conference that the Chinese government would like to endeavor for the return of Taiwan to China in a peaceful way, by which Li felt so inspired. He delivered a proposal on Taiwan issue in August of 1955, which aroused great attention across the world. With the permission of Chairman Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai invited Li to come back to China and on July 20 of 1965, Li returned to Beijing. Premier Zhou himself arrived at the airport to welcome him.

Li Tsung-jen