Qian Yiu-tong


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Qian Yiu-tong (: 錢耀通; : Qián Yào-tōng; 12th April 1898 - 26th May 1981, aged 83) was a Manchurian who served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Manchuria and by extension the de facto leader of the Manchu People's Republic from 1954 to his death in 1981. Prior to that he also served as the Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 1946 to 1954 as well as holding posts within the politburo, central committee, standing committee and secretariat. He was also Premier of the National Democratic Council from 1953 to 1955.

Born in the city of Mukden in 1898 Qian joined the Manchu Revolutionary National Congress during the 1920's before moving to the to study at the  during the 1920's. Following the  he joined the  where he subsequently became a member of the Communist Party of Manchuria. Qian established himself as an efficient revolutionary bureaucrat becoming the de facto deputy to CPM leader Xu Xiaobao. He helped lead the Manchu Revolution and subsequently negoigated Manchuria's independence from the. After the and creation of the Manchu People's Republic Qian became a member of the CPM's central committee and politburo. Aligned with the wing of the party Qian supported Xu Xiaobao throughout the late 1940's and in the early 1950's during the First Manchu-Korean War. The failure of the war and the subsequent Tianjin Agreement saw Xu's position in the party weakened to the point where in 1954 Qian ousted him and became leader of the Party and by extension of Manchuria.

As leader of Manchuria he enforced the Black River Protocol, as series of policies and doctrines which aimed to make Manchuria a regional power within the communist world. Power was delegated to lower levels of the party whilst Qian remained pre-eminent which led to institutionalised party factionalism. Qian also dismantled the cult of personality transferring such focus to the party as a whole rather then a single leader. The military was also modernised and Manchuria began a policy of pursuing weapons of mass destruction. Most controversially Qian spearheaded the Great Exchange, the of  from Manchuria. In 1967 Qian reversed this policy as a reaction to the in  and led the Zhongshan Movement which saw a slight thaw in cultural activities and limited economic reforms were made which placed more focus on consumer goods and light industry. Under Qian Manchuria became more actively involved in foreign affairs intervening in, , Lan Na, and. In 1976 the Zhongshan Movement was ended as a purge known as the Anti-Reactionary Campaign was launched which helped re-establish communist dominance over culture. As Qian's rule lengthened strict adherence to the Black River Protocol led to steady economic, social and political stagnation as party factionalism and growing paralysed national politics. During Qian's rule Manchuria became a as power was centralised to an elderly elite.

In 1978 Korean spy Lee Kwan-jin defected to Manchuria with Qian granting him asylum leading to increasingly escalating tensions between Manchuria and Korea. Following the assassination of Korean dictator tensions exploded with Korean communists staging a rebellion in the north of the country who were subsequently supported by Manchurian troops leading to the Second Manchu-Korean War. The war saw Manchuria use chemical weapons resulting in international condemnation whilst facing military defeat to Korea. The war resulted in support for Qian's leadership to evaporate in favour to the Chairman of the Standing Committee, reformist Tao Shiyou. In the last years of his life Qian became increasingly incapacitated as his health dramatically worsened, leading to his influence to wane as he was slowly replaced by Tao as leader. In 1981 he was removed from the post of First Secretary due to health issues dying of shortly afterwards.

Qian today is a controversial figure within Manchuria. Supporters maintain that under Qian Manchuria saw stability and steady economic growth with the standard of living rising dramatically as Manchuria became more respected on an international scale thanks to its nuclear weapon programme. Qian also saw extensive economic and social modernisation. Critics contend that Qian oversaw stagnation as well as increasing and corruption within Manchuria whilst failing to reform the   being responsible for numerous human right abuses. Qian's role in the Second Manchu-Korean war also is a common source of contention amongst his supporters and detractors. Qian and his Black River Protocol remains an influential figure on the Manchurian.