Hu Yaobang (; 20 November 1915 – 15 April 1989) was a high-ranking official of the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, sli ...
. He held the top office of the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...
(CCP) from 1981 to 1987, first as
Chairman from 1981 to 1982, then as
General Secretary
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derive ...
from 1982 to 1987. Hu joined the CCP in the 1930s, and rose to prominence as a comrade of
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. Aft ...
. During the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated go ...
(1966–1976), Hu was purged, recalled, and purged again by
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also Romanization of Chinese, romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the List of national founde ...
.
After Deng rose to power, following the death of Mao Zedong, Hu played a role in the "
Boluan Fanzheng
Boluan Fanzheng () or Poluan Fancheng, was a period in the history of People's Republic of China during which Deng Xiaoping, then paramount leader of China, led a far-reaching program attempting to correct the mistakes of the Cultural Revolution ...
" program. Throughout the 1980s, Hu pursued a series of economic and political reforms under the direction of Deng. Hu's political and economic reforms made him the enemy of several powerful
Party elders, who opposed free market reforms and Hu's reforms of China's government. When widespread
student protests
Campus protest or student protest is a form of student activism that takes the form of protest at university campuses. Such protests encompass a wide range of activities that indicate student dissatisfaction with a given political or acad ...
occurred across China in 1987, Hu's political opponents blamed Hu for the disruptions, claiming that Hu's "laxness" and "
bourgeois liberalization
Bourgeois liberalization () is a term used by the Chinese Communist Party to refer to either the prevalent political orientation of Western representative democracy or mainstream Western popular culture. The late 1980s saw the first major usage o ...
" had either led to, or worsened, the protests. Hu was forced to resign as Party general secretary in 1987, but was allowed to retain a seat in the
Politburo
A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states.
Names
The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contractio ...
.
Hu's position as Party general secretary was taken by
Zhao Ziyang
Zhao Ziyang ( zh, 赵紫阳; pronounced , 17 October 1919 – 17 January 2005) was a Chinese politician. He was the third premier of the People's Republic of China from 1980 to 1987, vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 19 ...
, who continued many of Hu's economic and political reforms. A day after Hu's death in 1989, a small-scale demonstration commemorated him and demanded that the government reassess his legacy. A week later, the day before Hu's funeral, some 100,000 students marched on Tiananmen Square, leading to the
1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre
The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fou ...
. Following the 1989 protests, the Chinese government censored the details of Hu's life within mainland China, but it officially rehabilitated his image and lifted its censorship restrictions on the 90th anniversary of Hu's birth, in 2005.
Early years
Young revolutionary
Hu Yaobang's ancestors were
Hakka
The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hun ...
s from
Jiangxi
Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north into h ...
. During the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
(1368–1644) they migrated into
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...
, where Hu was born.
[Lee 308] Hu Yaobang was born into a poor peasant family, and received little formal education. As a child he never attended school, and he taught himself to read. Hu participated in his
first rebellion when he was twelve, left his family to join the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...
when he was only fourteen,
[Kristof 2] and became a full member of the Party in 1933.
[''Encyclopædia Britannica''.] During the factional struggles that polarized the CCP during the 1930s, Hu supported Mao Zedong and opposed the
28 Bolsheviks.
Hu was one of the youngest veterans of the
Long March
The Long March (, lit. ''Long Expedition'') was a military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the National Army of the Chinese Nati ...
.
[Kristof 3] Once Mao was removed from power, shortly before the beginning of the
Fourth Encirclement Campaign, Mao's supporters were persecuted, and Hu Yaobang was sentenced to death. Just before the beginning of the Long March, he and others were on their way to be beheaded. However, a powerful local communist commander named
Tan Yubao intervened at the last minute, saving Hu's life. Because of Hu's support of Mao, he was deemed unreliable and ordered to join the Long March so that he could be placed under surveillance.
Hu Yaobang was seriously wounded in the battle of
Mount Lu
Mountain Lu or Lushan (, Gan: Lu-san), officially named Mountain Lu National Park, is a mountain in China. It was also known as Kuanglu () in ancient times. It is situated in Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, and is one of the most renowned moun ...
, near
Zunyi
Zunyi () is a prefecture-level city in northern Guizhou province, People's Republic of China, situated between the provincial capital Guiyang to the south and Chongqing to the north, also bordering Sichuan to the northwest. Along with Guiyang an ...
, close to the area where Mao Zedong rose back to power via the
Zunyi Conference
The Zunyi Conference () was a meeting of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in January 1935 during the Long March. This meeting involved a power struggle between the leadership of Bo Gu and Otto Braun and the opposition led by Mao Zedong. The ...
. After Hu was wounded the communist field medic teams chose not to help Hu, and left him in the battlefield to die on the side of the road. Hu was rescued by a childhood friend of his, a
Chinese Red Army
The Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army or Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, commonly known as the Chinese Red Army or simply the Red Army, are the armed forces of the Chinese Communist Party. It was formed when Communis ...
commander, who happened to pass by. Hu called out his friend's nickname to ask for help, and the friend helped him catch up with the retreating main force of the Chinese Red Army and get treatment for his wounds.
In 1936, Hu joined an expeditionary force led by
Zhang Guotao
Zhang Guotao (November 26, 1897 – December 3, 1979), or Chang Kuo-tao, was a founding member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and rival to Mao Zedong. During the 1920s he studied in the Soviet Union and became a key contact with the Comi ...
. The objective of Zhang's 21,800+ strong force, was to cross the
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan ...
, to expand the communist base west of
Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), Ning ...
, and to link up with forces from the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
or with the
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
warlord
Sheng Shicai
Sheng Shicai (; 3 December 189513 July 1970) was a Chinese warlord who ruled Xinjiang from 1933 to 1944. Sheng's rise to power started with a coup d'état in 1933 when he was appointed the ''duban'' or Military Governor of Xinjiang. His rule o ...
, who was an ally of the communists and the Soviet Union. Zhang Guotao's forces were soundly defeated by the local
Nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
warlords, the
Ma clique. Hu Yaobang, along with
Qin Jiwei, became two of the thousands of prisoners-of-war captured by Ma clique's forces. Hu was one of only 1,500 prisoners-of-war whom
Ma Bufang
Ma Bufang (1903 – 31 July 1975) (, Xiao'erjing: ) was a prominent Muslim Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the province of Qinghai. His rank was Lieutenant-general.
General Ma started an industrialization pr ...
decided to use as forced labor rather than execute.
Ma Bufang sent several Muslim cavalry divisions under General
Ma Biao to fight against the Japanese. However
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
pressured Ma Bufang to contribute even more of his troops to fight
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
invaders, Ma Bufang decided that, instead of using more of his own troops, he would instead send the 1,500 Chinese Red Army prisoners-of-war as conscripts. Since the marching route had to pass the border of the communist base in Shaanxi, Hu Yaobang and Qin Jiwei decided to return to the Communists, and secretly organized an escape. The escape took place as planned and was a success: out of the total 1,500 POWs, more than 1,300 successfully returned to
Yan'an
Yan'an (; ), alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Bao'a ...
. Mao personally welcomed these returning communists, and Hu Yaobang returned to communist forces, where he would remain for rest of his life.
After Hu arrived in
Yan'an
Yan'an (; ), alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Bao'a ...
, he attended the Anti-Japanese Military School. While studying in Yan'an, Hu met and married his wife,
Li Zhao, who was also a student in Yan'an. After his training, Hu worked in the political department, and was assigned to work as a member of
Peng Dehuai's Third Front Army.
Hu befriended and worked closely with Deng Xiaoping in the 1930s. In the 1940s, Hu worked under Deng as a political commissar in the Second Field Army. In the final stages of the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...
, Hu accompanied Deng to
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of th ...
, and communist forces successfully took control of the province from Nationalist forces in 1949.
Early PRC politician
In 1949, the CCP successfully defeated Nationalist forces on mainland China, and the communists founded the People's Republic. In 1952, Hu accompanied Deng to Beijing, and Hu became the leader of the
Communist Youth League
The Communist Youth League of China (CYLC), also known as the Young Communist League of China or simply the Communist Youth League (CYL), is a youth movement of the People's Republic of China for youth between the ages of 14 and 28, run by th ...
from 1952 to 1966.
Hu rose rapidly up the Communist Party hierarchy, until Mao sent Hu to work as First Party Secretary of
Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), Ning ...
in 1964, saying: "He needs some practical training". Hu may have been assigned to work outside of Beijing because he was judged as being not sufficiently enthusiastic about
Maoism
Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...
.
[Lee 311] Unlike many of his colleagues, Hu was able to keep his membership within the Party Central Committee until the 9th Party Congress in April 1969.
During the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated go ...
, Hu was purged twice and rehabilitated twice, mirroring the political career of Hu's mentor, Deng Xiaoping.
[''People's Daily''] In 1969, Hu was recalled to Beijing to be persecuted. Hu became "number one" among the "Three Hus", whose names were vilified and who were paraded through Beijing wearing heavy wooden collars around their necks. The other two "Hus" were
Hu Keshi
HU or Hu may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Hu Sanniang, a fictional character in the ''Water Margin'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature
* Tian Hu, one of the antagonists in the ''Water Margin''
* Hollywood Un ...
, who was the second most senior member of the Communist Youth League, and
Hu Qili
Hu Qili (; born 6 October 1929) is a former high-ranking politician of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He was a member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee and a member of its Secretariat between 1987 and 1989. In 1989, he was purged beca ...
, who was third most senior in the Communist Youth League and who had also become a close associate of Deng Xiaoping. After being publicly humiliated, Hu was sent to an isolated work camp to participate in "reformation through labour" under strict security. While in political exile Hu was forced to work hauling large boulders by hand.
When Deng was temporarily recalled to Beijing, from 1973 to 1976, Hu was also recalled; but, when Deng was purged again, in 1976, Hu was also purged.
After his second purge, Hu was sent to herd cattle.
Hu was recalled and rehabilitated a second time in 1977, shortly after Mao's death. After Hu was recalled, he was promoted to directing the Party's organizational department, and later directed Party propaganda through a department of the Politburo.
Hu was one of the main leaders responsible for re-assessing the fates of people who had been persecuted during the Cultural Revolution. According to the Chinese government, Hu was personally responsible for exonerating over three million people.
Hu tacitly supported the 1978
Democracy Wall protesters, and invited two of the activists to his home in Beijing. Hu opposed
Hua Guofeng
Hua Guofeng (; born Su Zhu; 16 February 1921 – 20 August 2008), alternatively spelled as Hua Kuo-feng, was a Chinese politician who served as Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and Premier of the People's Republic of China. The design ...
's "
Two Whatevers" policy, and was an important supporter of Deng Xiaoping's ascent to power.
Reformer
Public policies
Hu Yaobang's rise to power was engineered by Deng Xiaoping, and Hu rose to the highest levels of the Party after Deng displaced
Hua Guofeng
Hua Guofeng (; born Su Zhu; 16 February 1921 – 20 August 2008), alternatively spelled as Hua Kuo-feng, was a Chinese politician who served as Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and Premier of the People's Republic of China. The design ...
as China's "
paramount leader
Paramount leader () is an informal term for the most important political figure in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The paramount leader typically controls the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberation Army (PLA), often hol ...
". In 1980 Hu became Party Secretary General, and was elected to the powerful
Politburo Standing Committee
The Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), officially the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Histori ...
. In 1981, Hu became
CCP Chairman, but helped abolish the position of Party chairman in 1982, as part of a broader effort to distance China from Maoist politics. Most of the chairman's functions were transferred to the post of General Secretary, a post taken by Hu. Deng's displacement of Hua Guofeng marked the Party leadership's consensus that China should abandon strict Maoist economics in favor of more pragmatic policies, and Hu directed many of Deng's attempts to reform the Chinese economy.
By 1982, Hu was the second most powerful person in China, after Deng. Throughout the last decade of Hu's career, he promoted the role of intellectuals as being fundamental to China's achievement of the
Four Modernizations
The Four Modernizations (simplified Chinese: 四个现代化; traditional Chinese: 四個現代化) were goals first set forth by Deng Xiaoping to strengthen the fields of agriculture, industry, defense, and science and technology in China. T ...
.
During the early 1980s, Deng referred to Hu and
Zhao Ziyang
Zhao Ziyang ( zh, 赵紫阳; pronounced , 17 October 1919 – 17 January 2005) was a Chinese politician. He was the third premier of the People's Republic of China from 1980 to 1987, vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 19 ...
as his "left and right hands".
[Wu] After advancing to the position of general secretary, Hu promoted a number of political reforms, often collaborating with Zhao. The ultimate goals of Hu's reforms were sometimes vaguely defined. Hu attempted to reform China's political system by: requiring candidates to be directly elected in order to enter the Politburo; holding more elections with more than one candidate; increasing government transparency; increasing public consultation before determining Party policy; and, increasing the degree that government officials could be held directly responsible for their mistakes.
[Becker]
During his time in office, Hu tried to rehabilitate the people who were persecuted during the Cultural Revolution. Many Chinese people think that this was his most important achievement. He was also in favor of a pragmatic policy in the
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions of ...
after realising the mistakes of previous policies. He ordered the withdrawal of thousands of Han Chinese cadres from the Tibet Autonomous Region following a May 1980 visit to the region, believing that Tibetans and Uyghurs should be empowered to administer their own affairs. Han Chinese who remained were required to learn Tibetan and Uyghur.
[Bass 52] He set out six requirements to improve 'existing conditions', including the increase of state funds to the Tibet Autonomous Region, improvements in education, and efforts to revive Tibetan and Uyghur culture. At the same time, Hu stated that "anything that is not suited to Tibet's conditions should be rejected or modified".
[ Hu made a point of explicitly apologizing to Tibetans for China's misrule of the region during this trip. He also declared to cancel Bingtuan (soldier farmers) in ]Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
.
Hu traveled widely throughout his time as general secretary, visiting 1500 individual districts and villages in order to inspect the work of local officials and to keep in touch with the common people. In 1971, Hu retraced the route of the Long March
The Long March (, lit. ''Long Expedition'') was a military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the National Army of the Chinese Nati ...
, and took the opportunity to visit and inspect remote military bases located in Tibet, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Yunnan, Qinghai
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
, and Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for ...
.[Lee 312]
Controversial political opinions
Hu was notable for his liberalism and the frank expression of his opinions, which sometimes agitated other senior Chinese leaders. On a trip to Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for ...
in 1984, Hu publicly suggested that Chinese people might start eating in a Western way (with forks and knives, on individual plates) in order to prevent communicable diseases. He was one of the first Chinese officials to abandon wearing a Mao suit in favor of Western business suits. When asked which of Mao Zedong's theories were desirable for modern China, he replied "I think, none".[Kristof 1]
Hu was not prepared to abandon Marxism completely, but frankly expressed the opinion that Communism could not solve "all of mankind's problems". Hu encouraged intellectuals to raise controversial subjects in the media, including democracy, human rights, and the possibility of introducing legal limits to the Communist Party's influence within the Chinese government. Many party elders mistrusted Hu from the start and eventually grew to fear his influence.
Hu made sincere efforts to repair Sino-Japanese relations Sino-Japanese is often used to mean:
* Sino-Japanese vocabulary: That portion of the Japanese vocabulary that is of Chinese origin or makes use of morphemes of Chinese origin (similar to the use of Latin/Greek in English).
* Kanbun: A Japanese meth ...
, but was criticized for the scope of his efforts. In 1984, when Beijing recognized the twelfth anniversary of Japan's diplomatic recognition of the People's Republic, Hu invited 3,000 Japanese youth to Beijing, and arranged for them to tour Shanghai, Hangzhou
Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, wh ...
, Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...
, Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city a ...
, and Xi'an
Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by #Name, other names, is the list of capitals in China, capital of Shaanxi, Shaanxi Province. A Sub-provincial division#Sub-provincial municipalities, sub-provincial city o ...
. Many senior officials considered Hu's efforts extravagant, since Japan had only invited 500 Chinese youths to Japan the previous year. Hu was criticized internally for the lavish gifts that he gave to visiting Japanese officials, and for allowing his daughter to privately accompany Japanese prime minister Nakasone Nakasone is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Hirofumi Nakasone (born 1945), former Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, son of Yasuhiro Nakasone
*Keith Nakasone (born 1956), American competitive judoka
*Michael Nakason ...
's son when they visited Beijing. Hu defended his actions by citing the importance of strong Sino-Japanese relations, and his belief that the atrocities committed by Japan in China during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
were the actions of military warlords, and not ordinary citizens.
Hu alienated potential allies within the People's Liberation Army when he suggested for two consecutive years that the Chinese defense budget should be reduced, and senior military leaders began to criticize him. Military officials accused Hu of making poor choices when purchasing military hardware from Australia in 1985. When Hu visited Britain, military officials criticized him for drinking soup too loudly during a banquet hosted by Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
.[Lee 313–314]
Zhao and Hu began a large-scale anti-corruption programme, and permitted the investigations of the children of high-ranking Party elders, who had grown up protected by their parents' influence. Hu's investigation of Party officials belonging to this "Crown Prince Party
The Princelings (), also translated as the Party's Crown Princes, are the descendants of prominent and influential senior communist officials in the People's Republic of China. It is an informal, and often derogatory, categorization to signify tho ...
" made Hu unpopular with many powerful Party officials. After Deng refused to support some of Hu's reforms, Hu made private comments critical of Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. Aft ...
for his indecisiveness and "old-fashioned" way of thinking, opinions which Deng eventually became aware of.[Lee 314]
Resignation
In December 1986, a group of students organized public protests across over a dozen cities in support of political and economic liberalization. The protests began in the University of Science and Technology in Hefei
Hefei (; ) is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census and its built-up ( ...
, Anhui, where they were led by the activist and astrophysicist, Fang Lizhi, who was then Vice Chancellor of the university. Fang talked openly about introducing political reforms which would end the influence of the Communist Party within the Chinese government. The protests were also led by two other "radical intellectuals", Wang Ruowang and Liu Binyan.
Deng Xiaoping disliked all three leaders, and ordered Hu to dismiss them from the Party in order to silence them, but Hu Yaobang refused. In January 1987, after two weeks of student protests demanding greater Western-style freedoms, a clique of Party elders and senior military officials forced Hu to resign on the grounds that he had been too lenient with student protesters and for moving too quickly towards free market-style economic reforms.
After Hu's forced dismissal, Deng Xiaoping promoted Zhao Ziyang
Zhao Ziyang ( zh, 赵紫阳; pronounced , 17 October 1919 – 17 January 2005) was a Chinese politician. He was the third premier of the People's Republic of China from 1980 to 1987, vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 19 ...
to replace the liberal Hu as Party general secretary, putting Zhao in a position to succeed Deng as "paramount leader". Hu officially resigned as Party general secretary on 16 January, but retained his seat in the Politburo Standing Committee. When Hu "resigned", the Party forced him to issue a humiliating "self-criticism of his mistakes on major issues of political principles in violation of the party's principle of collective leadership". During the event, which consisted of all of the Elders, Politburo, Secretariat, and the Central Advisory Commission, all of his allies abandoned him with the exception of his close friend, Xi Zhongxun, who stood up and defended him and lashed out at everybody for Hu's treatment. Hu had to keep Xi from losing his temper, telling him "Don't worry about it, Zhongxun, I've got this." After that, Hu became more reclusive and less active in Chinese politics, studying revolutionary history and practicing his calligraphy in his spare time, and taking long walks for exercise. Hu was generally viewed as having no real power after his resignation, and he was relegated to largely ceremonial roles.
Hu's "resignation" harmed the credibility of the CCP while improving Hu's own. Among Chinese intellectuals Hu became an example of a man who refused to compromise his convictions in the face of political resistance, and who had paid the price as a result. The promotion of a conservative, Li Peng
Li Peng (; 20 October 1928 – 22 July 2019) was a Chinese politician who served as the fourth Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1987 to 1998, and as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Ch ...
, to the position of premier after Hu's departure from executive-level positions made the government less enthusiastic to pursue reform, and upset plans of an orderly succession of power from Deng Xiaoping to any politician similar to Hu.
Death, protests, and burial
Death and public reactions
In October 1987, Hu retained his membership in the CCP's Central Committee at the 13th Party Congress, and was subsequently elected a member of the new Politburo by the first plenary session of the Central Committee. On 8 April 1989, Hu suffered a heart attack while attending a Politburo meeting in Zhongnanhai
Zhongnanhai () is a former imperial garden in the Imperial City, Beijing, adjacent to the Forbidden City; it serves as the central headquarters for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the State Council (central government) of China. Zhongn ...
to discuss education reform. Hu was rushed to the hospital, accompanied by his wife. Hu died several days later, on 15 April. He was 73 years old. Hu's last words were that he should be buried simply, without extravagance, in his hometown.[Lee 315]
In his official obituary, Hu was described as "a long-tested and staunch communist warrior, a great proletarian revolutionist and statesman, an outstanding political leader for the Chinese army". Western reporters observed that Hu's obituary was intentionally "glowing" in order to divert suspicion that the Party had mistreated him. At the memorial service, Hu's widow Li Zhao blamed Hu's death on how harshly the party treated him, telling Deng Xiaoping "It's all because of you people!"
Although he had become a semi-retired official by the time of his death, and had been removed from positions of real power for his "mistakes", public pressure forced the Chinese government to give him a state funeral, attended by Party leaders. The eulogy at Hu's funeral praised his work in restoring political normality and promoting economic development after the Cultural Revolution.Brook
A brook is a small river or natural stream of fresh water. It may also refer to:
Computing
*Brook, a programming language for GPU programming based on C
*Brook+, an explicit data-parallel C compiler
* BrookGPU, a framework for GPGPU programm ...
26–27 Public mourners at Hu's funeral lined up long, a reaction which surprised China's leaders. Shortly after Hu's funeral, students in Beijing began petitioning the government to officially reverse the verdict that had led to Hu's "resignation", and to provide a more elaborate public funeral. The government then held a public memorial service for Hu in the Great Hall of the People
The Great Hall of the People is a state building located at the western edge of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. It is used for legislative and ceremonial activities by the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the ruling Chinese Co ...
.
On 22 April 1989, 50,000 students marched to Tiananmen Square to participate in Hu's memorial service, and to deliver a letter of petition to Premier Li Peng
Li Peng (; 20 October 1928 – 22 July 2019) was a Chinese politician who served as the fourth Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1987 to 1998, and as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Ch ...
. Many people were dissatisfied with the party's slow response and relatively subdued funerary arrangements. Public mourning began on the streets of Beijing and elsewhere. In Beijing, this was centred on the Monument to the People's Heroes in Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square (; 天安门广场; Pinyin: ''Tiān'ānmén Guǎngchǎng''; Wade–Giles: ''Tʻien1-an1-mên2 Kuang3-chʻang3'') is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the eponymous Tiananme ...
. The mourning became a public conduit for anger against perceived nepotism
Nepotism is an advantage, privilege, or position that is granted to relatives and friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to, business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, fitness, religion, and ...
in the government, the unfair dismissal and early death of Hu, and the behind-the-scenes role of the "old men", officially retired leaders who nevertheless maintained quasi-legal power, such as Deng Xiaoping.[ The protests eventually escalated into the ]Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourt ...
. Hu's promotion of the ideas on freedom of speech and freedom of press greatly influenced the students participating in the protests.
Tomb
After Hu's funeral, his body was cremated
Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning.
Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...
, and his ashes were buried in Babaoshan. Hu's wife, Li Zhao, was unhappy with the location of Hu's grave, and successfully petitioned the government to move Hu's remains to a more suitable site. Eventually Hu's remains were moved to a large mausoleum in Gongqingcheng, Jiangxi, a city that Hu had helped found in 1955. Hu's mausoleum is arguably the most impressive tomb of any senior CCP leader.
Li Zhao collected money for the construction of Hu's tomb from both private and public sources; and, with the help of her son, they selected an appropriate location in Gongqingcheng. The tomb was constructed in the shape of a pyramid, on the top of a hill. On 5 December 1990, Hu's ashes were flown to Gongqingcheng, carried by his son, Hu Deping
Hu Deping (; born November 1942) is a Chinese politician and former vice chairman of All-China General Chamber of Industry & Commerce, Secretary of National Association of Industry and Commerce (under the United Front Work Department of the Cen ...
. The ceremony was attended by Wen Jiabao
Wen Jiabao (born 15 September 1942) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the Premier of the State Council from 2003 to 2013. In his capacity as head of government, Wen was regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic polic ...
, numerous Jiangxi public officials, and 2,000 members of the Communist Youth League. Gongqingcheng's factories and schools were closed for the day, allowing 7,000 local citizens to attend. At the ceremony, Li Zhao made a speech expressing her gratitude towards the government and for the people who attended.
Official censorship and rehabilitation
Media censorship
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourt ...
eventually ended in the violent suppression of protesters on 4 June 1989, in which hundreds of civilians were killed. Because the protests had been sparked by the death of Hu Yaobang, the government determined that any public discussion of Hu and his legacy could destabilize China by renewing debate about the political reforms that Hu supported. Because of the public association with Hu and the Tiananmen Square protests, Hu Yaobang's name became taboo on the mainland, and the Chinese government censored any mention of him in the media.[Pan] In one example of government censorship, printed media which commemorated the anniversary of his death in 1994 were withdrawn from publication.
Official rehabilitation
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese politician who served as the 16–17th general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the 6th president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 2003 to 2013, an ...
announced plans to rehabilitate Hu Yaobang in August 2005, with events organised for 20 November, the 90th anniversary of Hu's birth. Ceremonies were planned in Beijing, where Hu died, in Hunan, where Hu was born, and in Jiangxi
Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north into h ...
, where Hu was buried. Western observers noted that the move to rehabilitate Hu Yaobang may have been part of a broader political effort by Hu Jintao to gain support from reform-minded colleagues, who had always respected Hu Yaobang.
Some political analysts have argued that Hu Jintao's administration wished to be associated with Hu Yaobang. Both Hu's (no relation) rose to power through the Communist Youth League
The Communist Youth League of China (CYLC), also known as the Young Communist League of China or simply the Communist Youth League (CYL), is a youth movement of the People's Republic of China for youth between the ages of 14 and 28, run by th ...
, and have been described as part of the same "Youth League Clique". Hu Yaobang's support was partially responsible for Hu Jintao's rapid promotion during the 1980s.
Some observers noted that Hu Yaobang's rehabilitation made it more likely that the Party would be willing to re-evaluate the 1989 Tiananmen protests, but other observers expressed skepticism. Memorials with the purpose of recognizing the date of someone's birth or death are often signs of political trends within China, with some pointing to the prospect of further reform. Skeptics noted that Hu Jintao made a statement praising the governments of Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
and North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...
(in spite of their economic "flaws") shortly after announcing Hu Yaobang's public commemoration, implying that it would be unlikely that the party would pursue a dramatic programme of political reform in the near future.
On 18 November 2005, the Communist Party officially celebrated the 90th anniversary of Hu Yaobang's birth with activities at the People's Hall (the date was changed to two days before it was officially scheduled). Around 350 people attended, including premier Wen Jiabao
Wen Jiabao (born 15 September 1942) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the Premier of the State Council from 2003 to 2013. In his capacity as head of government, Wen was regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic polic ...
, vice president
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is o ...
Zeng Qinghong
Zeng Qinghong (born 30 July 1939) is a retired Chinese politician. He was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, China's highest leadership council, and top-ranked member of the Secretariat of the Central ...
, and numerous other Party officials, celebrities, and members of Hu Yaobang's family.['']Xinhua
Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: )J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua ...
'' It was rumored that Hu Jintao wanted to attend, but was prevented from doing so by other senior members of the Party who still disliked Hu Yaobang. Wen was not given the opportunity to talk, and Zeng Qinghong was the most senior Party member to speak. In his speech, Zeng said that members should learn from Hu's merits, especially his frankness and genuine concern for the Chinese people. Zeng stated that Hu had "contributed all his life and built immortal merits for the liberation and happiness of the Chinese people ... His historic achievements and moral character will always be remembered by the Party and our people."
In the media after 2005
The official three-volume biography and a collection of Hu's writings were slated for release in China. The project was originally begun by a group of Hu's former aides, led by Zhang Liqun Zhang may refer to:
Chinese culture, etc.
* Zhang (surname) (張/张), common Chinese surname
** Zhang (surname 章), a rarer Chinese surname
* Zhang County (漳县), of Dingxi, Gansu
* Zhang River (漳河), a river flowing mainly in Henan
* ''Zh ...
(who died in 2003). After the government learned of the project, it insisted on taking control of it. One of the main issues that government censors identified was the concern that details of Hu's relationship with Deng Xiaoping (especially details of Hu's removal from power after resisting orders to crack down on student demonstrators in 1987) would reflect poorly on Deng's legacy. The authors of Hu's biography subsequently rejected offers from the government to released a censored version. Only one volume (dealing with events up to the end of the Cultural Revolution) of the biography written by Hu's former aides was eventually published, with the other two volumes held by the government and remaining unpublished.
Although magazines publishing commemorative articles were initially stopped from being released, the ban was lifted in 2005 and these magazines were publicly issued. ''Yanhuang Chunqiu
''Yanhuang Chunqiu'' (), sometimes translated as ''China Through the Ages'', was a monthly journal in the People's Republic of China commonly identified as liberal and reformist. It was started in 1991, with the support of Xiao Ke, a liberal gene ...
'', a reform-minded magazine, was allowed to publish a series of articles in 2005 commemorating the birthday of Hu Yaobang, but the government acted to limit the availability of the magazine. The issue commemorating Hu sold 50,000 copies, but the remaining 5,000 copies were destroyed by propaganda officials. This was the first time since his death that Hu's name appeared publicly.
In April 2010 (the 21st anniversary of Hu's death), Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao
Wen Jiabao (born 15 September 1942) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the Premier of the State Council from 2003 to 2013. In his capacity as head of government, Wen was regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic polic ...
wrote an article in the '' People's Daily'' titled "Recalling Hu Yaobang when I return to Xingyi". Presented as an essay, it recollected an investigation of ordinary people's lives by Hu Yaobang and Wen Jiabao in Xingyi County, Guizhou, in 1986. Wen, who worked with Hu from 1985 to 1987, praised Hu's "superior working style of being totally devoted to the suffering of the masses", and his "lofty morality and openness f character. Wen's essay elicited an enthusiastic reaction in Chinese-language websites, generating over 20,000 responses on Sina.com on the day the article appeared.[Lam] The article was interpreted by observers familiar with the Chinese political system as a confirmation by Wen that he was a protégé of Hu, rather than Zhao Ziyang.
On 20 November 2015, the 100th Anniversary of the birth of Hu Yaobang, Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...
held a high-profile commemoration ceremony for Hu Yaobang in Beijing. In contrast to the event held by the previous leadership ten years earlier, the 100th anniversary event was deliberately high-profile and attended by all members of the Politburo Standing Committee
The Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), officially the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Histori ...
. Xi lavished Hu with praise for his accomplishments, and said that Hu "dedicated his life to the party and to the people. His led a glorious life, a life of struggle ... his contributions will shine in history." Hu appeared as a character in the 2015 historical drama ''Deng Xiaoping at History's Crossroads
''Deng Xiaoping at History's Crossroads'' () is a 2014 TV biopic series based on the life of Deng Xiaoping. It was produced by CCTV
Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to t ...
''.
See also
* Hu Yaobang's Former Residence
*Politics of the People's Republic of China
The People's Republic of China is run by a single party, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), headed by the CCP General Secretary who tends to be the paramount leader of China. China is among few contemporary party-led dictatorships to not hold ...
*History of the People's Republic of China
The history of the People's Republic of China details the history of mainland China since 1 October 1949, when Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, CCP chairman Mao Zedong Proclamation of the People's Republic of China, proclaimed the China ...
*Hu Deping
Hu Deping (; born November 1942) is a Chinese politician and former vice chairman of All-China General Chamber of Industry & Commerce, Secretary of National Association of Industry and Commerce (under the United Front Work Department of the Cen ...
, son of Hu Yaobang
* Zhang Zhixin
References
Citations
Sources
"China Braces for Tiananmen Square Massacre Anniversary"
''The Australian''. 13 April 2009.
* Bass, Catriona. ''Education in Tibet: Policy and Practice Since 1950''. Zed Books. 1998. .
* Becker, Jasper
''The Independent''. 18 January 2005. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
* Brook, Timothy. '' Quelling the People: The Military Suppression of the Beijing Democracy Movement''. Stanford University Press. 1998. .
"Hu Yaobang"
''Encyclopædia Britannica Online''. 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
* Fan, Maureen
''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
''. 28 December 2008. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
* Forney, Matthew
"Speed Read: Hu Yaobang"
''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...
''. 20 November 2005. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
* Gladney, Dru C
''Dislocating China: Muslims, Minorities, and Other Subaltern Subjects''
Chicago: Chicago University Press. 2004. .
* Kristof, Nicholas D
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', 16 April 1989. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
* Lam, Willy
"Chinese Leaders Revive Marxist Orthodoxy"
''Asia Times Online
''Asia Times'' (), formerly known as ''Asia Times Online'', is a Hong Kong-based English language news media publishing group, covering politics, economics, business and culture from an Asian perspective. ''Asia Times'' publishes in English and ...
''. 1 May 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
* Lee, Khoon Choy
''Pioneers of Modern China: Understanding the Inscrutable Chinese''
Singapore: World Scientific Publishing. 2005. .
* MacFarquhar, Roderick. "Foreword". In Zhao Ziyang, '' Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang''. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster. 2009. .
* Pan, Philip P
"China Plans to Honor a Reformer"
''The Washington Post''. 9 September 2005. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
'' People's Daily''. 19 November 2005. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
* Nathan, Andrew James, & Gilley, Bruce. "China's New Rulers: The Secret Files". ''New York Review of Books''. 2003.
* Tilly, Charles. ''The Politics of Collective Violence''. Cambridge University Press. 2003.
* Vogel, Ezra F. '' Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China''. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. 26 September 2011.
* Wen Jiabao
"Recalling Hu Yaobang When I Return to Xingyi"
hinese: 再回兴义忆耀邦 ''People's Daily''. 15 April 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
*Wu Zhong
"Hu, Wen, and Why"
''Asia Times Online''. 21 April 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
''Xinhua
Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: )J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua ...
''. 18 November 2005. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
* Wen Jiabao
"Premier Wen Jiabao's article on Hu Yaobang's Visit to Tibet"
''People's Daily''. 15 April 2010.
Further reading
* Pang, Pang. ''The Death of Hu Yaobang''. Center for Chinese Studies, School of Hawaiian, Asian, and Pacific Studies. University of Hawai'i. University of Michigan. 1998.
Over 30,000 comments on Wen Jiabao's article on Hu Yaobang.
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hu, Yaobang
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