“The Chinese leadership made a decision
to erase the name of Zhao Ziyang,
because when absolute power went insane,
it was Zhao Ziyang who rang the bell
of reason and compassion.”
- Bao Tong, 2004
Written under Beijing house arrest
The Passing of China’s last reformist Premier Zhao Ziyang
On the morning of January 17, a short terse statement in the official Xinhua Agency announced the death of “Comrade” Zhao Ziyang, 85, from respiratory and cardiovascular disease. What was not mentioned is that Zhao was the nation’s Premier between 1980 and 1987, as well as Chief of the Chinese Communist Party [CCP]from 1987-89. He pioneered the market reforms under Deng Xiaoping that transformed China into a global power and advocated the separation of power between the party and the government, and increased press freedom and representative assemblies. More importantly – and tragically – it was his devotion to pursue open democracy and rule of law that led him to leniency toward the pro-democracy student movement at Tiananmen Square in the Spring of 1989. His public compassion for the students and workers who protested against government corruption, ultimately led to his purging by hardliners who crushed the reformist movement and took full control of the CCP.
No public displays of mourning for Zhao have been permitted by China’s current rulers, led by Hu Jintao, whose political career advanced during the Cultural Revolution/Tiananmen periods. Zhao’s name and image have been banned in state media since his fall from being the chosen successor to rule China after Deng, to permanent confinement in a traditional Chinese courtyard house. In a January 17 report in the Washington Post, Philip Pan observed that in many ways the Communist Party has recovered from image damage caused by its Tiananmen Square brutality. However, “its anxiety about reaction to Zhao’s death reflects its own deep insecurity about its hold on power.” Government censors erased hundreds, if not thousands of notes of sorrow posted on the internet by Chinese students. “Can’t we grieve when someone dies?” challenged one email on the website of the official People’s Daily.
Hu Jintao’s Ideological Campaign vs. Democratic Subversion:
A week before Zhao’s death, a nationwide internal circular by the Communist Party leadership warned against “hostile foreign forces” and “anti-government forces” taking advantage of Zhao’s passing to undermine socio-political stability, reports Willy Lam on January 18 on CNN.com. The circular also instructed police and other security units to prevent intellectuals, students and other people from holding commemorative gatherings or other activities, with fear that the masses of disaffected and jobless workers and peasants would also join in. Although diplomats in Beijing, Shanghai and other large cities said the public was calm, they agree Hu will likely continue the crackdown on the country’s reform-minded intellectuals, independent media outlets and unregistered religious believers.
Although praised in some Western circles as being a “moderate” or “reformer,” soon after Hu took over the post of military commander-in-chief last September – overseeing the continuation of an unprecedented conventional and nuclear military expansion – he ordered a tough campaign against “public intellectuals” and advocates of “new liberalism.” In addition, Hu recently ordered an 18-month long ideological education campaign to “preserve the advanced nature” of the 86 million Chinese Communist Party members. According to official documents, CNN continues, the ideological crusade is aimed against “infiltration and subversion” of Western-style political reform.
Chinese Naval Buildup and Missile Assistance to Iran:
A greater international tragedy is still unfolding. The brutality that was shown at Tiananmen by those who deposed Zhao and the other reformers underscores the consequence of China’s rise as an aggressive military power. On January 18, the New York Times reported that the U.S. Government was imposing sanctions on eight Chinese companies for continuing to assist Iran with its ballistic missile program. These included Norinco, China’s largest state-owned weapons maker. Also on January 18, in the Washington Times, Bill Gertz reported that Beijing is building its military forces internationally and setting up bases along sea lanes from the Middle East to project its power overseas and protect its oil shipments, according to a U.S. Defense Department internal report.
Zhao Ziyang’s Legacy:
The last time the world saw Zhao Ziyang was in May 1989. He was still the Communist Party leader, standing in a sea of students who were calling for democracy at Tiananmen Square. He had a bullhorn in his hand and tears welling in his eyes. He had just left a meeting with China’s other top leaders and military officers and knew he was powerless to stop the oncoming violence and tyranny. The rest of his life – the past 15 years – was spent in isolation. Meanwhile, the democratic West chose to pursue economic profit rather than focusing on the internal tyranny and the Chinese military expansion driven by the lineage of ruthless leaders who had deposed Zhao and his reformers. One of those deposed officials still under house arrest, Bao Tong, stated:
“Zhao Ziyang’s life formed part of a heroic and mighty task, that of pioneering the protection of human rights and democracy for the Chinese people… To mourn Zhao is to defend human rights. To mourn Zhao is to pursue democracy and the rule of law.”
On January 19, the Washington Post’s Philip Pan reported that Bao Tong and his 73 year-old wife were attacked by more than 20 plainclothes security agents as they attempted to leave their apartment building to pay their respect to Zhao’s family. Bao’s wife, Jiang, was pushed to the ground and suffered fractured spinal vertebrae. Although Bao was also hurt, authorities would not let him see a doctor unless he removed a white flower pinned to his shirt, a traditional symbol of Chinese mourning. He refused.
