61889 Regiment
| People's Liberation Army 61889 Regiment Chinese Center Safeguard Regiment |
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| Active | June 9, 1953 to present |
| Country |  People's Republic of China |
| Branch | People's Liberation Army Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission |
| Type | Safeguard Regiment |
| Role | Guard for the main leaders of CCP and PRC |
| Part of | Central Security Bureau |
| Garrison/HQ | Beijing |
| Colors | Red and Green |
| Engagements | Huairen Hall Incident |
The People's Liberation Army 61889 Regiment, formerly named the 8341 Special Regiment, and also known as the Chinese Central Safeguard Regiment, is responsible for guarding and protecting the main leaders of the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Republic of China.
This regiment was established on June 9, 1953. Originally, it was called the Center Safeguard Division 1st Regiment. As they were responsible for the protection of the leaders of the People's Republic, the soldiers and weapons of the regiment were highly selective. In 1976, Wang Dongxing brought the 8341 Special Regiment into Huairen Hall and arrested the Gang of Four, which significantly helped to end the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
History
This regiment was originally named the Chinese Peoples' Public Security Center Column (Chinese: 中国人民公安中央纵队), 2nd Division, 4th Regiment. In 1951, the Division changed its name to the Center Safeguard Division; at the same time, the 4th Regiment became the 1st Regiment. In 1953, it was renamed the Chinese Center Safeguard Regiment (Designation name is "Center 001", Chinese: 总字001). In the late 1950s, its designation changed to Regiment 3747. Around 1964, it first used the name of "Regiment 8341".[1] 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.[2]
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 (from Zunyi Conference to his death).[3] Besides, there are also some other explanations.[4] 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.[2]
