Cai Pei

Cai Pei

Cai Pei (Chinese: 蔡培; pinyin: Cài Péi; Wade–Giles: Ts'ai P'ei; Hepburn: Sai Bai; 1884 — 1960) was a diplomat and politician in the Republic of China. He was an important person during the Wang Jingwei regime, and successively held the positions of Mayor of Nanjing Special City and Ambassador to Japan. His courtesy name was Ziping (子平). He was born in Wuxi, Jiangsu.

Biography

Cai Pei went to study to Japan, and graduated from the Department of Law, Waseda University. Later he returned to China, where Cai and Liu Yazi (柳亞子) established the cultural society Nanshe (南社). Cai also was elected Member of the House of Representatives. In January 1928, He was appointed secretary of the Ministry for Transportation in the Nationalist Government. In January 1930, he was promoted to Chief of the Aviation Bureau of the Ministry for Transportation. In 1935, he was transferred to the position of Chief of the Civil Administration Bureau of the Ministry for Interior.

In March 1940, when the Wang Jingwei Regime was established, Cai Pei was appointed Policy Affairs Vice-Minister for Commerce and Industry. In June, he was transferred to the position of Mayor of Nanjing Special City. In next December, he assumed the office of Chairman of the Managing Commission for Provisions. In March 1943, he was appointed Ambassador to the Empire of Japan. In May 1945, he returned to Nanjing, and was appointed Member of the National Government.

After the Reorganised National Government of China had collapsed, Cai Pei was arrested by Chiang Kai-shek's National Government in September 1945. In next July, he was charged with promoting "Sino-Japanese friendship" and sentenced to death on Shanghai High Court. After appealing to the Supreme Court, he was commuted to life imprisonment in November 1947. Cai Pei served his sentence in Shanghai. After the People's Republic of China was established, his treatment remained unchanged. In August 1956, following deterioration in his condition, he received medical treatment.

Cai Pei died in prison in 1960.

References

• Xu Youchun (徐友春) (main ed.) (2007). Unabridged Biographical Dictionary of the Republic, Revised and Enlarged Version　(民国人物大辞典 增订版). Hebei People's Press (Hebei Renmin Chubanshe; 河北人民出版社). ISBN 978-7-202-03014-1. 
• History of Prison in Shanghai (上海监狱志), The Office of Shanghai’s History (上海地方志办公室) Website
• Liu Shoulin (刘寿林) (etc.ed.) (1995). The Chronological Table of the Republic's Officer (民国职官年表). Zhonghua Book Company. ISBN 7-101-01320-1. 
• The Biographies of Most Recent Chinese Important People (最新支那要人伝). Asahi Shimbun. 1941.