Liao Chengzhi

Liao Chengzhi
Liao in the late 1940s
Director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office
Personal details
Born	(1908-09-25)25 September 1908 Tokyo
Died	10 June 1983(1983-06-10) (aged 74) Beijing
Relations	Liao Zhongkai (father) He Xiangning (mother) Liao Mengxing (sister)
Children	Liao Hui

Liao Chengzhi (Chinese: 廖承志; pinyin: Liào Chéngzhì; 25 September 1908 – 10 June 1983) was a Chinese politician. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1928, and rose to the position of director of the Xinhua News Agency; after 1949, he worked in various positions related to foreign affairs, most prominently president of the Beijing Foreign Languages Institute, president of the Sino-Japanese Friendship Society, and Minister of the Office of Overseas Chinese Affairs.

Liao was born in the Ōkubo neighbourhood of Tokyo in 1908 to father Liao Zhongkai and mother He Xiangning. His father, a native of Huiyang in Huizhou, Guangdong, had wanted to study abroad ever since he was a student at Hong Kong's Queen's College; he left his wife behind in Hong Kong to pursue his studies in Tokyo in January 1903, but she joined him there just three months later. She pursued education there as well, taking time off after young Liao was born, but returning to school just six months later. Liao was overweight as a child; even his own parents referred to him as "fatty" (Hakka: 肥仔). His parents became members of the Kuomintang very early on; Sun Yat-sen was a frequent visitor to their household, sparking the young Liao's interest in politics. He and his sister Liao Mengxing also studied wushu with one of Sun's bodyguards. His family moved frequently; the young Liao attended school in Tokyo, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.