Yu Jiyi

Yu Jiyi (; November 24, 1911 – October 9, 2010), also known as Yu Qingrui () and Yu Zhengtian (), was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and politician. He participated in the Communist-led labor movement in Shanghai from 1928 and joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in August 1931. During the Chinese Civil War, the Second Sino-Japanese War, and the establishment of the People's Republic of China, he held numerous political and military leadership positions. After 1949, he served as Secretary of the Taizhou Prefectural Committee of the CCP, Head of the United Front Work Department of the CCP Zhejiang Provincial Committee, President of the Zhejiang Higher People's Court, Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Zhejiang Committee, and Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Zhejiang People's Congress.

Biography

Yu was born on November 24, 1911, in Yixian, Anhui, Anhui Province. He became involved in the Communist-led labor movement in Shanghai in 1928 and formally joined the Chinese Communist Party in August 1931. Shortly afterward, he was assigned to southern Anhui, where he successively served as secretary of several local Communist organizations, including the Yixian Special Branch, district committees, and county committees. During the Chinese Soviet period, he also served as political commissar of the First Guerrilla Detachment of the Chinese Red Army in southern Anhui and participated in organizing and leading the Jicun Uprising in Yixian.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Yu became active in Communist military and political work in eastern China. In 1937, he served on the Military Commission of the CCP Shanghai Committee and helped organize the First Detachment of the Su-Zhe Action Committee guerrilla force. He subsequently held a number of positions in southern Anhui and the New Fourth Army, including secretary of local Party committees, head of the United Front Department of the Southern Anhui Special Committee, director of propaganda and mass mobilization work in the Fifth Detachment of the New Fourth Army, political commissar of the Fourth Guerrilla Corps, magistrate and Party secretary of Xuyi County, minister of enemy affairs for the Huainan Party organization, and secretary of the Huainan Huxi General Working Committee. He later served as liaison chief of the eastern Tianjin–Pukou Railway Military Subdistrict under the Second Division of the New Fourth Army.

In September 1944, Yu studied at the Central China Party School. After graduation, he worked for the Wanjiang Regional Committee and later served as secretary of the Linjiang County Committee, head of inspection teams under the Central China Bureau, and leader of Party work teams. In 1946, he was dispatched to Shanghai to conduct underground Communist activities. Beginning in 1947, he served as First Deputy Secretary of the Front Committee in southern Anhui and later as deputy secretary and acting secretary of the Anhui–Zhejiang–Jiangxi Working Committee during the final stages of the Chinese Civil War.

Following the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Yu became Secretary of the Taizhou Prefectural Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and Political Commissar of the Taizhou Military Subdistrict. He was later appointed deputy head and subsequently head of the United Front Work Department of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the CCP. During the Cultural Revolution, he was persecuted, publicly denounced, and subjected to political investigation.

In November 1972, Yu was appointed president and Party Secretary of the Zhejiang Higher People's Court. In July 1977, he returned as Head of the United Front Work Department of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee and concurrently served as Secretary of its Party Leadership Group. In May 1981, he was elected Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Zhejiang People's Congress.

Yu also served as Vice Chairman of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference from its first through fourth terms and was a member of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th National Committees of the CPPCC. He was elected a deputy to multiple sessions of the Zhejiang People's Congress and retired from public office in December 1985.

Yu died in Hangzhou on October 9, 2010, at the age of 98. Following his death, condolences were extended by senior Chinese leaders including Hu Jintao, Xi Jinping, Li Yuanchao, Zhu Rongji, and Li Jianguo.