Nelson Fu
Western-trained doctor who served the CCP elite.
via Wikipedia: Nelson Fu · see source
Nelson Fu (Fu Lianzhang) was a Chinese medical doctor, one of the few Western-trained physicians to complete the Long March. He later served as a Vice Minister of Public Health in Beijing, responsible for the health of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) elite. In 1955, he was awarded the rank of Lieutenant General of the People's Liberation Army. According to Mao's personal doctor Li Zhisui, it was Fu who recruited Li, then living in Australia, back to work for the government.
Quick Facts
- Born
- September 14, 1894
- Died
- 29 March 1968
- Birthplace
- Changting, Fujian, China
- Place of death
- Beijing, PRC
- Party
- Chinese Communist Party
- Service years
- 1933–1968
- Rank
- Lieutenant General
- Branch
- People's Liberation Army
Facts from the source article.
Education and career
In the 1920s and 1930s, Fu lived and worked in Changting in Western Fujian, where he was a senior medical doctor at the British Christian missionary Ashington Medical Center, which he had attended. He renamed it the Hospital of the Gospel in 1926. In late 1925, he met Deng Zihui, who gave him copies of the newspaper "The Sound of Rocks" and the magazine "New Social View", promoting communist ideology and influencing his thinking. In early 1933, he joined the Red Army, moving the Gospel Hospital to Ruijin and turning it into the Central Red Hospital, where he served as director. After reaching Northern Shaanxi, in January 1937 he was ordered to establish the Central Soviet Hospital in Yan'an. Following the 1937 reorganization, he became Director of the Shaan-Gan-Ning Border Region Hospital. In September 1938, introduced by Mao Zedong and Chen Yun, he attended the Central Party Training Class and was later approved to join the Chinese Communist Party. That winter, he served as Director of the Central Committee's General Health Department and concurrently as Director of the Central Hospital. In May 1945, he attended the 7th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, and in October became Vice Minister of the Central Military Commission's General Health Department, continuing to oversee health care for the central leadership. After the People's Republic was established, he became a member of the All-China Federation of Natural Science Societies' Planning Committee, Director of the Chinese Medical Association, and a participant in the second meeting of the National Political Consultative Conference. In 1952, he was a member and one of many directors of the Chinese Red Cross Society, and also served as Vice Minister of Health for the Central Committee and first Vice Director of the General Logistics Department of the Central Military Commission.
Downfall and death
By the late 1950s, Nelson Fu had fallen out of favor with Chairman Mao and resigned, though Mao still thought well of him. During the Cultural Revolution, Lin Biao and his ally Qiu Huizuo persecuted Fu severely. He was beaten and jailed on charges of deliberately withholding medicine to harm Lin when he was ill. Fu died in prison on March 29, 1968, at age 74. After Lin's death, Mao cleared Fu's name posthumously in 1973. Fu wrote "How To Maintain Health" and "The Treatment of Tuberculosis."
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Nelson Fu born?
Nelson Fu was born on September 14, 1894 in Changting, Fujian, China.
When did Nelson Fu die?
Nelson Fu died on 29 March 1968 in Beijing, PRC.
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