China Honors Deposed Leader - New York Times
China Honors Deposed Leader - New York TimesChina Honors Deposed Leader By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: November 18, 2005
Filed at 6:41 a.m. ET
BEIJING (AP) -- China's communist rulers commemorated an ousted reformist leader for the first time since his 1989 death led to the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests, praising him as a statesman in a ceremony Friday to mark the 90th anniversary of his birth.
The ceremony, attended by Premier Wen Jiabao and other top officials, rehabilitated the memory of Hu Yaobang and appeared to be an attempt to strengthen the leadership's reformist image.
''Comrade Hu Yaobang was a long-tested and staunch communist warrior, a great proletarian revolutionist and statesman (and) an outstanding political leader for the Chinese army,'' Vice President Zeng Qinghong said in a speech at the ceremony, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
Hu Yaobang, who is no relation to current President Hu Jintao, is an awkward figure for communist rulers. He was respected in the party, but his link in the public's mind to the 1989 protests made any official action involving him sensitive.
Hu Yaobang was dismissed as Communist Party general secretary in 1987 by then-supreme leader Deng Xiaoping for allowing student protests.
After Hu's death in April 1989, students who admired his reformist record left funeral wreaths in Tiananmen Square. The outpouring grew into demonstrations that ended in a military attack on June 3-4, 1989, which killed hundreds and perhaps thousands.
Hu Yaobang was liked by party liberals, and analysts say that by honoring him, President Hu might be trying to reach out to liberals and revive stalled political reforms. President Hu was at an Asian-Pacific economic conference in South Korea on Friday.
''They certainly believe that this gesture of commemorative activities may help to strengthen a little bit their reformist image,'' said political analyst Joseph Cheng, chairman of the City University of Hong Kong's Contemporary China Research Center.
But Cheng said Zeng's remarks were ''neutral language'' meant to appeal to public affection for Hu Yaobang while avoiding offending any party faction.
And Cheng said it was unlikely to affect public opinion.
''People can see there is no active program for genuine political reform,'' he said.
Xinhua said the ceremony was attended by 350 people, including Hu's relatives. It came two days before the anniversary of Hu's birth on Nov. 20. The government gave no reason for celebrating it early, but the date falls on Sunday, the first day of a visit to Beijing by President Bush.
Xinhua credited Hu Yaobang with helping to repair damage done by the violent 1966-76 Cultural Revolution. It said he ''helped correct numerous misjudged cases ... and exonerate more than three million purged cadres.''
''In his revolutionary career of six decades, he contributed all his life and built immortal merits for the liberation and happiness of the Chinese people,'' Zeng was quoted as saying.
''His historic achievements and moral character will always remembered by the party and our people.''
Hu Yaobang's successor, Zhao Ziyang, was dismissed for sympathizing with the Tiananmen Square protesters and lived under house arrest for 16 years until his death in January.
Cheng said Chinese leaders also might have decided to honor Hu in order to mollify members of the public who were offended at the handling of Zhao's funeral in January. That event took place under heavy security and lacked the honors extended to Hu.
Published: November 18, 2005
Filed at 6:41 a.m. ET
BEIJING (AP) -- China's communist rulers commemorated an ousted reformist leader for the first time since his 1989 death led to the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests, praising him as a statesman in a ceremony Friday to mark the 90th anniversary of his birth.
The ceremony, attended by Premier Wen Jiabao and other top officials, rehabilitated the memory of Hu Yaobang and appeared to be an attempt to strengthen the leadership's reformist image.
''Comrade Hu Yaobang was a long-tested and staunch communist warrior, a great proletarian revolutionist and statesman (and) an outstanding political leader for the Chinese army,'' Vice President Zeng Qinghong said in a speech at the ceremony, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
Hu Yaobang, who is no relation to current President Hu Jintao, is an awkward figure for communist rulers. He was respected in the party, but his link in the public's mind to the 1989 protests made any official action involving him sensitive.
Hu Yaobang was dismissed as Communist Party general secretary in 1987 by then-supreme leader Deng Xiaoping for allowing student protests.
After Hu's death in April 1989, students who admired his reformist record left funeral wreaths in Tiananmen Square. The outpouring grew into demonstrations that ended in a military attack on June 3-4, 1989, which killed hundreds and perhaps thousands.
Hu Yaobang was liked by party liberals, and analysts say that by honoring him, President Hu might be trying to reach out to liberals and revive stalled political reforms. President Hu was at an Asian-Pacific economic conference in South Korea on Friday.
''They certainly believe that this gesture of commemorative activities may help to strengthen a little bit their reformist image,'' said political analyst Joseph Cheng, chairman of the City University of Hong Kong's Contemporary China Research Center.
But Cheng said Zeng's remarks were ''neutral language'' meant to appeal to public affection for Hu Yaobang while avoiding offending any party faction.
And Cheng said it was unlikely to affect public opinion.
''People can see there is no active program for genuine political reform,'' he said.
Xinhua said the ceremony was attended by 350 people, including Hu's relatives. It came two days before the anniversary of Hu's birth on Nov. 20. The government gave no reason for celebrating it early, but the date falls on Sunday, the first day of a visit to Beijing by President Bush.
Xinhua credited Hu Yaobang with helping to repair damage done by the violent 1966-76 Cultural Revolution. It said he ''helped correct numerous misjudged cases ... and exonerate more than three million purged cadres.''
''In his revolutionary career of six decades, he contributed all his life and built immortal merits for the liberation and happiness of the Chinese people,'' Zeng was quoted as saying.
''His historic achievements and moral character will always remembered by the party and our people.''
Hu Yaobang's successor, Zhao Ziyang, was dismissed for sympathizing with the Tiananmen Square protesters and lived under house arrest for 16 years until his death in January.
Cheng said Chinese leaders also might have decided to honor Hu in order to mollify members of the public who were offended at the handling of Zhao's funeral in January. That event took place under heavy security and lacked the honors extended to Hu.
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