Lin Ligo

Born in the family of a prominent CPC leader Lin Biao , one of the leaders of the PLA , the future marshal and Minister of Defense of the PRC . He graduated from the elite school N 4 in Beijing , entered the University of Beijing at the Faculty of Physics. He was a member of the CCP.

In March 1967 , during the Cultural Revolution , the 21-year-old Lin Liguo was assigned to the leadership service in the PLA Air Force command (the commander was Lin Wang's associate General Wu Fasyan ). On October 17, 1969, by order of Lin Biao, Lin Biao appointed Lin Ligo the head of the operational management of the Air Force headquarters with the rank of lieutenant. According to the testimony of Wu Fassian in court in 1980, the 24-year-old Lin Ligo controlled the Air Force information system and had the authority to issue orders from his father, the Minister of Defense.

During the Cultural Revolution, Lin Biao was considered the official successor to Mao Zedong at the head of the CCP. However, since 1970 , relations between the Minister of Defense and the Prime Minister of the State Council, Zhou Enlai, and the grouping of his wife, Mao Zedong, Jiang Qing, have sharply deteriorated. Along with the struggle for power, there were disagreements on the foreign policy of the PRC . Lin Biao advocated continuing a simultaneous confrontation with the USSR and the USA , while Zhou Enlai proposed reconciliation and rapprochement with the United States. Mao Zedong supported the position of Zhou Enlai ^[1] . With the " Shanghai radicals " Jiang Qing and Zhang Chunqiao, sharp contradictions and mutual hatred were generated by competition for influence on Mao.

In October 1970, Lin Ligo joined his father in the "Lin Biao plot" ^[2] . This was partly due to such personal qualities as independence, rejection of "idolatry" (relating to Mao Zedong) ^[3] . With a group of military personnel, mostly Air Force officers, he developed a call for an armed coup, code-named "571." The document contained not so much a concrete action plan as an opposition political declaration sharply criticizing the ruling group for “distorting Marxism-Leninism in personal interests”, “incompetence”, “corruption”, “reprisal and murder” ^[4] . Confidence was expressed in supporting the future speech from the USSR. These appraisals, which Lin Ligo directly related to compiling, went much further than Lin Biao’s claims.

The conspirators also considered the option of killing Mao Zedong when he visited Shanghai , although they did not consider this desirable. In February-March 1971, Lin Ligo held a series of meetings with military functionaries.

The balance of power was such that the success of the “571 plan” was virtually ruled out. The early arrest of Lin Biao and his family members became inevitable. In September 1971, Lin Biao, his wife Ye Xun , Lin Ligo and their closest supporters decided to flee China to the Soviet Union. September 13, 1971 the plane took off, but crashed on the territory of Mongolia . All those on board died.

In November 1980 - January 1981 , a trial was held in Beijing against members of the "counter-revolutionary groups Lin Biao and Jiang Qing." In court, in particular, appeared five high-ranking military men, including Wu Fassian ^[5] . They testified that Lin Ligo was actively involved in the conspiracy.

Lin Ligo was not officially married. His fiancée Zhang Ning, singer and dancer of the music ensemble of the Nanjing Military District, was arrested after trying to escape and the death of the Lin Biao family. For almost four years she was on a “labor reeducation” in the village. Released in 1975 at the request of Zhou Enlai and Xu Shiyu . In 1990, Zhang Ning emigrated to the United States, where she went into business ^[6] .

According to the stories of Zhang Ning, Lin Ligo was fond of Western rock music, especially The Beatles ^[7] . With his submission, this music became popular in the Chinese Air Force ^[8] .

Lin Ligo had the nickname 老虎 - Tiger .