61889 Regiment


The People's Liberation Army Unit 61889, formerly named the 8341 Special Regiment, and also known as the Central Guard Regiment or the Central Bureau of Guards, is responsible for guarding and protecting the top leaders of the Communist Party of China and the People's Republic of China. This regiment was established in its current form on June 9, 1953. It reports to the Central Security Bureau.
In 1976, Wang Dongxing, Chairman Mao Zedong's long-time security chief, brought the 8341 Special Regiment into the Huairen Hall and arrested the Gang of Four on the order of Mao's designated successor, Hua Guofeng, an action which significantly helped to end the Chinese Cultural Revolution.

History

During the Chinese Civil War, the core of the future 8341 Regiment was called the Chinese Peoples' Public Security Center Column, 2nd Division, 4th Regiment. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China it was attached to the Ministry of Public Security. In 1951, the force changed its name to Central Guard Division. In 1953, it was renamed the Chinese Central Guard Regiment. In the late 1950s, its designation changed again to Regiment 3747. Around 1964, it first used the name of "Regiment 8341". In 1975, it changed once again to the "57001 Regiment" but soon reverted to the designation "8341 Special Regiment". In 1976, after the death of Mao Zedong, the regiment changed its designation once more to the "57003 Regiment". In October 2000, it underwent its latest name change, becoming the 61889 Regiment, the designation still used at present.

Anecdote

The regimental code of "8341" has inspired a number of stories about why it was chosen. One such tale is that in 1948, when Mao Zedong and the other leaders of the Chinese Communist Party first moved to Beijing, Mao talked with a monk of Tayuan Temple, at Mount Wutai, Shanxi Province. The monk gave him this number, which meant that Mao Zedong would live to be 83 years old and would lead the CCP for 41 years. Besides, there are also some other explanations. However, according to the first regimental commander Zhang Yaoci, this code was only arranged by the People's Liberation Army General Staff Department, and the other stories did not have any reasonable evidence.