Ep. 289 | China’s Himmler, Dai Li (Part 3)
We continue with the conclusion of this series that looks at the life and times of Chiang Kai-shek's Spymaster, Dai Li, and his eight-year reign of terror. After being dealt a heavy blow in the Yan Baohang and Zhang Shuping spy cases, Dai found himself back on his heels with a legion of haters trying to tear him down.
But it's always darkest before the dawn. And after Pearl Harbor and the sudden proliferation of Americans in Chongqing and other parts of China, opportunity knocked on Dai Li's door. SACO is born after Dai Li and Milton Miles meet and begin to discuss cooperating against the Japanese in China. It won't be long after SACO is operational that Dai uses the resources of the organization to also go after his and the KMT's political enemies, the CCP most of all.
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Terms in Episode
| Pinyin/Term | Chinese | English/Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Dài Lì | 戴笠 | 1897-1946, KMT spymaster, a.k.a. Chiang Kai-shek's Sabre, headed the Nationalist government's secret police and spy organizations |
| Wànglóngmén | 望龙门 | District locasted in the south of Chongqing where the head office of the MSB was located |
| Jūntǒng | 军统 | The National Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (Military Commission),(NBIS or BIS) (Chinese: 國民政府軍事委員會調查統計局; pinyin: Guómín zhèngfǔ jūnshì wěiyuánhuì diàochá tǒngjìjú),commonly known as Juntong |
| Yán Bǎoháng | 阎宝航 | 1895-1968, former KMT member who defected to the Communists and served as a spy inside the halls of power in Chongqing. His son was Yan Mingfu |
| Zhāng Lùpíng | 张露萍 | 1921-1945, a young spy who operated inside the Juntong for several years alongside others |
| Wāng Jīngwèi | 汪精卫 | 1883-1944, another major KMT leader and major political rival to Chiang Kai-shek |
| Chén Lìfū | 陈立夫 | 1900-2001, brother of Chen Guofu, KMT politician, later headed up the Investigation Section of the Organization Department of the KMT |
| Chén Guǒfū | 陈果夫 | 1892-1951, KMT politician, brother of Chen Lifu, also served in the Nationalist government. CC Clique member |
| Hú Dié | 胡蝶 | Also known by her stage name of Butterfly Wu. She was, if not THE hottest actress appearing in Chinese movies, certainly was one of the biggest names at the time |
| Chén Huá | 陈华 | 1912-1994, Chinese actress and Juntong spy who was run by her lover Dai Li |
| T.V. Sòng | 宋子文 | Known as Soong Tse-vung, 1894-1971, a major figure in Nationalist China politics |
| Zhōng Tǒng | 中统 | The Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) Chinese: 中國國民黨中央執行委員會調查統計局 (Zhōngguó Guómíndǎng Zhōngyāng Zhíxíng Wěiyuánhuì Diàochá Tǒngjì Jú),an intelligence unit under the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang. |
| Gēlèshān | 歌乐山 | Also known as Happy Valley, one of the Juntong's most notorious jails and interrogation centers was locaterd there. Part of the complex included the former residence of the Tang poet Bái Jūyì 白居易 |
| Shāpíngbà | 沙坪坝区 | A district in the western part of Chongqing |
| Kāng Shēng | 康生 | 1898-1975, early CCP member who's slavish devotion to Mao was well-known. He was Dai Li's "counterpart" as spymaster and secret police chief for the CCP |
| Yán’ān | 延安 | City in northern Shaanxi where Mao setup his revolutionary base during the 1930's and 40's |
| Qīngdǎo | 青岛 | Beautiful port city on the Shandong coast |
| Jiāngníng | 江宁 | city just south of Nanjing where Dai Li's plane went down |
| Jiāngshān | 江山 | Southern Zhejiang city where Dai Li was born |
| Máo Rénfèng | 毛人凤 | 1898-1956, Nationalist general and spymaster who (as we'll see in Part 3) succeeded Dai Li as head of the KMT spy agency |
| Jiǎng Jièshí de Pèijiàn | 蒋介石佩剑 | "Chiang Kai-shek's sabre", one of Dai Li's many surnames |
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Although all kinds of tension brewed beneath the surface, the mid to late 19th Century saw a continued bonanza for Singapore.