Wu was born in 1906 in Yanggao County, Shanxi. In 1923, he was admitted to Peking Normal University, where he became active in progressive student movements during the period of the First United Front. He joined the Communist Youth League in 1925 and later became a member of the Chinese Communist Party. During his student years, he participated in organizing student associations and publishing activities aimed at promoting anti-imperialist and anti-feudal ideas.[2]
In the years leading up to the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, Wu was engaged in cultural and educational activities in areas under Kuomintang rule, often using teaching positions as cover for underground revolutionary work. After the Mukden Incident in 1931, he actively supported student protests against Japanese aggression. During the December 9th Movement of 1935, he worked with other activists to organize anti-Japanese associations among students from Shanxi and Suiyuan in Beijing, contributing to the broader national salvation movement.[3]
Following the outbreak of full-scale war with Japan, Wu took part in the work of the National Revolutionary War Mobilization Committee in the Second War Zone. In 1938, he was appointed director of the Suiyuan Border Region Working Committee and secretary of the Party's Daqingshan Special Committee, participating in the establishment of the Daqingshan anti-Japanese guerrilla base area in Inner Mongolia. Under extremely harsh conditions, he contributed to mobilizing local populations, including Mongolian communities, and strengthening united front policies in the region.[4][5]
In 1939, Wu returned to Yan'an, where he worked as a secretary in the office of Mao Zedong. He later served in senior positions in the Jinsui Border Region, including as deputy head of the Jinsui Administrative Office and member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Jinsui Sub-bureau.[6] He played a key role in organizing the Provisional Senate of Northwest Shanxi in 1942 and implementing the Party's “Three-Three System” of political representation, thereby strengthening democratic governance in the anti-Japanese base areas.[7]
During the Chinese Civil War, Wu served as secretary of the CPC Jinnan Working Committee and head of the Jinnan Administrative Office, supporting military operations in northwest China through mobilization of personnel and resources.[8]
After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Wu held several senior governmental and legislative posts. He served as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and later as Secretary-General of the Political and Legal Committee of the State Council of the People's Republic of China.[9] Following the establishment of the first National People's Congress in 1954, he transferred to work under the NPC Standing Committee. He was elected as a deputy to the first through fifth National People's Congresses and served as a member of the NPC Standing Committee from the second to the fifth sessions. He also served as Vice Chairperson of the NPC Bills Committee and as Vice Secretary-General of the NPC Standing Committee.[10]
Wu was deeply involved in China's legislative development, including the drafting of the Criminal Law adopted in 1979. He emphasized grounding legislation in China's practical conditions while drawing cautiously on foreign legal experience.[11] After the Third Plenum of the 11th Central Committee, he served as Vice Chairperson and Secretary-General of the NPC Legislative Affairs Commission, contributing to the acceleration of socialist legal construction.[12]
In 1983, due to age and health reasons, Wu stepped down from leading posts and was appointed as an adviser to the Chairman's Council of the NPC Standing Committee. He was also elected as a member of the Central Advisory Commission and served as the first president of the China Law Society. Wu Xinyu died in Beijing on September 3, 1989.[13]
