On this day, 56 years ago, on January 30, 1969 (December 13, 1968, the lunar calendar), well-known patriot Li Zongren passed away. Photo: Li Zongren when he was acting president Li Zongren and his wife returned from overseas and arrived in Beijing. Zhou Enlai and others went to the airport to welcome Li Zongren, who was once a well-known acting president of the Kuomintang government. On August 13, 1891, Li Zongren was born in a family that had been farming for generations in Lingui County, Guilin City, Guangxi Province. He began his military career at the age of 17. He joined the Alliance in 1910 and participated in the war of protecting the country and protecting the law. He joined the Kuomintang of China in 1923. In November 1924, he was appointed by Sun Yat-sen as the commander of the First Army of the Guangxi Army. After he led his team to defeat the ranks of the old Guangxi warlord Shen Hongying, he became the leader of the New Guangxi Dynasty. During the Northern Expedition, he served as commander of the Seventh Army of the Kuomintang Army and commanded the battles of the Luoluo River and Hesheng Bridge, as well as the siege of Wuchang. In April 1927, Li Zongren participated in the "Cleanup of the Party and Anti-Communist" conference convened by Chiang Kai-shek in Shanghai, supported Chiang Kai-shek in launching an anti-communist coup, and successively served as commander-in-chief of the Third Route Army, commander-in-chief of the Fourth Group Army, and chairman of the Wuhan Political Branch. In August 1927, he teamed up with He Yingqin to force Chiang Kai-shek to retire. In the Battle of Jiang Gui that broke out in March of the following year, Li Zongren failed and went to Hong Kong. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Li Zongren served as Commander of the Fifth Theater and Chairman of Anhui Province. He commanded the Battle of Taierzhuang in the Battle of Xuzhou. The victory of Taierzhuang wiped out more than 10,000 enemy troops, leaving a glorious page in the history of the War of Resistance. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, he served as the director of Beiping's headquarters. In April 1948, he was elected vice president of the National Government, and Chiang Kai-shek served as acting president after his "retirement". In December 1949, Li Zongren left the United States due to political discord with Chiang Kai-shek. In 1954, Chiang Kai-shek removed him from the post of vice president. In April 1955, Premier Zhou Enlai publicly stated at the Asian-African Conference in Bandung that the China government is willing to strive for peaceful means to promote Taiwan's return to the motherland under possible conditions. Li Zongren, who had been in hiding in the United States for five years, was deeply inspired and published "Suggestions on the Taiwan Issue" in the United States in August 1955, which aroused strong repercussions at home and abroad. After obtaining the consent of Chairman Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai contacted overseas and invited Li Zongren to return to China for a visit. In the summer of 1956, Li Zongren sent Cheng Siyuan to Beijing to contact Zhou Enlai. In the next few years, Cheng Siyuan went to Beijing four times and Europe twice to convey Premier Zhou Enlai's opinions to Li Zongren. On July 20, 1965, Li Zongren, who had lived overseas for 16 years, returned to Beijing from the vast ocean. Premier Zhou Enlai personally met him at the Capital Airport. Li Zongren suffered from rectal cancer three years after returning to the motherland. He died of illness in Beijing on January 30, 1969 at the age of 78. Mao Zedong met with Li Zongren, Guo Dejie and others