Ye Jianying
On 1 February 1950, Ye Jianying, commander-in-chief and political commissar of the Guangdong Military Region, held a conference at Guangzhou with the officers of the XV Corps of the IV Field Army. It was decided at the conference that small-scale landings would be conducted first to probe the weakness of the island's defense, and to strengthen the Qiongya Column on the island in coordination with the landing forces.