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January 15, 2011

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Father of China's navy dies at 95

LIU Huaqing, father of the modern Chinese navy, has died at age 95.

The former vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission died yesterday morning of an illness, said a statement issued by the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

Liu was granted major general in 1955 and general in 1988.

He commanded the People's Liberation Army Navy from 1982 to 1988 and is credited with revitalizing a coastal patrol force and setting it on course to becoming a powerful navy.

As commander, he laid out a strategy of building an offshore navy capacity by the year 2000 and a true blue-water navy able to operate far from home ports by 2050.

That included the concept of a first, second and third line of island chains through which the navy would gradually expand operations.

Accomplishing that goal requires the addition of modern submarines, surface ships and naval aircraft, and the navy has received budget increases each year to acquire new equipment.

China now has the largest navy in Asia, although it remains far behind the US Navy in most respects.

Liu joined the Communist Party in 1935. Following the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, he was sent to the then-Soviet Union for study before being assigned to command units in the fledgling navy.

Liu had been a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

The Party statement said Liu was a distinguished member of the CPC, a seasoned loyal Communist fighter, an outstanding proletarian revolutionist, politician and strategist, and an excellent leader of the Party, the state and the military.

Liu lived through many of the seminal events of the Communist Party's history, including the 1934-35 Long March.

Liu remained active throughout the mid-1990s and appeared in uniform at the 2007 commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.


 

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