Ex- Party intelligence division celebrates 90th anniversary

Zhongyang Teke, a former special operations division under the Communist Party of China ( CPC)’ s Central Committee tasked with gathering intelligence, celebrated its 90th anniversary in Beijing on Tuesday to honor their nameless agents’ contributions to the “covert war.”

To safeguard the security of CPC’s Central Committee’s leading organs and leaders, the division was established on November 11, 1927 to gather intelligence and provide security. The late premier Zhou Enlai directly supervised the division, according to a report on news portal china. com in April 2015.

General Luo Yuan, son of Luo Qingchang, who served with Zhou Enlai and was in charge of intelligence management, spoke at the meeting, according to a WeChat account affiliated with the Party School of the Central Committee of CPC.

“Two words to describe great soldiers in the ‘ covert war’: ‘ nameless’ but ‘ heroic,’” Luo said in his speech. Luo also summarized the six characteristics of the nameless agents – loyal, fearless, cautious when alone, alert, capable and helpful to each other, which he calls the spirit that every Party member and soldier should learn from.

Yao Zijian, 102, the only surviving agent in the nation who served at the division, attended the ceremony together with more than 100 children of nameless agents and research experts, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Those who attended the ceremony also appealed to Chinese society to preserve the history of the covert wars as a way of inspiring future generations and fighting those who smear war heroes.

The standing committee of the National People’s Congress on May 16 released a draft of the National Intelligence Law on its website for public feedback until June 14. The draft said that state intelligence work should provide support to guard against security threats and protect major national interests.