Li Kenong

Intelligence Career and the "Three Heroes of Longtan"

Li Kenong was born on 15 September 1899 in Chao County (present-day Chaohu), Anhui, joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1926, and spent much of his career engaged in party intelligence and clandestine work. In late 1929, the CCP's Central Special Section sent Li Kenong, Qian Zhuangfei, and Hu Di to infiltrate the core of the Nationalist secret service, with Li leading the intelligence cell; Li used a post at the Shanghai Wireless Administration Bureau as cover, while Qian embedded himself as confidential secretary to Nationalist intelligence chief Xu Enzeng. In April 1931, Gu Shunzhang, head of the Special Section, was arrested in Wuhan and defected, threatening to help the Nationalists wipe out the CCP's Shanghai leadership within three days. Qian, on night duty, intercepted and decoded the relevant telegram and sent word to Li that same night; Li immediately alerted Zhou Enlai, enabling the timely evacuation of the entire CCP central leadership and the Shanghai office of the Communist International, averting a catastrophic blow to the party. The three became known as the 'Three Heroes of Longtan,' in one of the most celebrated operations of the CCP's underground intelligence front. After 1949, Li served as Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs from October 1949 to October 1954, was concurrently appointed Director of the Central Investigation Department in June 1955, and was awarded the rank of General that September.

Directing the Panmunjom Armistice Negotiations

From 1951 to 1953, Li Kenong served as head of the Chinese People's Volunteers' armistice negotiation delegation, directing all Chinese activities at the Panmunjom talks from behind the scenes. Due to health reasons he did not personally sit at the negotiating table — Qiao Guanhua assisted him and Xie Fang served as the visible chief delegate — but he maintained direct communication with Beijing through secure channels, controlling the pace of negotiations and China's bottom lines. He was the most critical behind-the-scenes Chinese decision-maker throughout the armistice process. Li's health had been deteriorating since 1943 under the strain of prolonged high-pressure clandestine work, and a fall on 25 October 1957 caused a cerebral hemorrhage that further weakened him. He died in Beijing on 9 February 1962, at the age of 62.