Five-Character Quatrain · In Praise of “Secret Envoy No. 1”
(January 1950)

Terrifying waves pound the lone island,
Blue waves reflect the sky at dawn.
In the tiger’s lair a loyal soul is concealed,
The light of day thus arrives early.

[1] “Secret Envoy No. 1” refers to General Wu Shi, the underground operative whom the intelligence department of the East China Bureau had placed deep inside the high command of the Kuomintang military in Taiwan. Wu Shi (1894–1950). On 15 August 1949, as the liberation of Fuzhou was imminent, Chiang Kai-shek sent an urgent handwritten order summoning Wu Shi to Taiwan. Before leaving, the CPC underground organisation gave him the code name “Secret Envoy No. 1”. After arriving in Taiwan, Wu Shi assumed the post of Deputy Chief of the General Staff in the Kuomintang Ministry of National Defence. On 10 June 1950, betrayed by a traitor, he met his death calmly in Taipei. Facing execution, he looked towards the mainland and said: “Taiwan and the mainland are one family—this is the bond of blood and the people’s heart. Decades from now, I will return to my native home.” To honour General Wu Shi’s special contribution to the great cause of national reunification, in 1973 Premier Zhou Enlai, overriding all dissenting views and with Chairman Mao Zedong’s support, had the State Council posthumously recognise General Wu Shi as a revolutionary martyr.

[2] “Terrifying waves” implies that underground operatives were at all times in a perilous environment like stormy, raging seas. “Lone island” denotes Taiwan.

[3] “In the tiger’s lair a loyal soul is concealed” extols General Wu Shi’s utter loyalty and devotion after infiltrating the enemy camp.