11-30-2022, 09:03 PM
Jiang Zemin[a] (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004, and as president of China from 1993 to 2003. Jiang represented the "core of the third generation" of CCP leaders since 1989.
Jiang came to power unexpectedly as a compromise candidate following the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, when he replaced Zhao Ziyang as CCP general secretary after Zhao was ousted for his support for the student movement. As the involvement of the "Eight Elders" in Chinese politics steadily declined,[1] Jiang consolidated his hold on power to become the "paramount leader" in the country during the 1990s.[b] Urged by Deng Xiaoping's southern tour in 1992, Jiang officially introduced the term "socialist market economy" in his speech during the 14th CCP National Congress held later that year, which accelerate "opening up and reform".[2] Under Jiang's leadership, China experienced substantial economic growth with the continuation of market reforms, saw the return of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom in 1997 and Macau from Portugal in 1999 and improved its relations with the outside world, while the Communist Party maintained its tight control over the state. However, Jiang faced criticism over human rights abuses which also led to the crackdown of the Falun Gong movement. His contributions to party doctrine, known as the "Three Represents", were written into the CCP constitution in 2002. Jiang gradually vacated his official leadership titles from 2002 to 2005 (being succeeded in these roles by Hu Jintao), and continued to influence affairs until much later. At the age of 96 years, 106 days, Jiang was the longest-living paramount leader in the history of the PRC, surpassing Deng Xiaoping on 14 February 2019, as well as the last living Chinese paramount leader of the 20th Century. On 30 November 2022, Jiang died from leukemia and multiple organ failure.[3]
Much more at Wikipedia.
Jiang came to power unexpectedly as a compromise candidate following the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, when he replaced Zhao Ziyang as CCP general secretary after Zhao was ousted for his support for the student movement. As the involvement of the "Eight Elders" in Chinese politics steadily declined,[1] Jiang consolidated his hold on power to become the "paramount leader" in the country during the 1990s.[b] Urged by Deng Xiaoping's southern tour in 1992, Jiang officially introduced the term "socialist market economy" in his speech during the 14th CCP National Congress held later that year, which accelerate "opening up and reform".[2] Under Jiang's leadership, China experienced substantial economic growth with the continuation of market reforms, saw the return of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom in 1997 and Macau from Portugal in 1999 and improved its relations with the outside world, while the Communist Party maintained its tight control over the state. However, Jiang faced criticism over human rights abuses which also led to the crackdown of the Falun Gong movement. His contributions to party doctrine, known as the "Three Represents", were written into the CCP constitution in 2002. Jiang gradually vacated his official leadership titles from 2002 to 2005 (being succeeded in these roles by Hu Jintao), and continued to influence affairs until much later. At the age of 96 years, 106 days, Jiang was the longest-living paramount leader in the history of the PRC, surpassing Deng Xiaoping on 14 February 2019, as well as the last living Chinese paramount leader of the 20th Century. On 30 November 2022, Jiang died from leukemia and multiple organ failure.[3]
Much more at Wikipedia.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.