Paper no. 1227	21. 01. 2005
China: Demise of former Premier and Party Chief Zhao Ziyang  Guest Column-by D. S. Rajan While making public the news of demise of reformist former Premier and Party Chief Zhao Ziyang at Beijing on January 17, 2005, both Chinese and English language official media in the People's Republic of China (PRC), chose to call the departed leader a "Comrade". The significance of the use of such a title with respect to a leader who was reportedly ousted from all his posts on June 24,1989 in the aftermath of Tian An Men student protests, seems to have been missed in the world media coverage of the event so far. Important to note in this connection is that the given title would mean that Zhao, till his death, remained a Party member and was not subjected to a total purge, despite serious charges were leveled against him in the past. Yang Shangkun and Li Peng, former President and Premier respectively had accused Zhao of splitting the Party and supporting the 1989 student 'turmoil'. Veteran leader Deng Xiaoping in his June 9,1989 address to Martial Law units, without naming Zhao, accused "some comrades" of not understanding the nature of the problem. "They think it is a simple question of how to treat the masses We also face a rebellious clique which wants to topple our country and overthrow our party". Perhaps Zhao's position could be compared with that of former Party Chairman Hua Guofeng, who despite losing his position during developments following Mao's death, continued to remain as a Central Committee and Party member.  While care appears to have been taken not to completely denigrate Zhao ( as a sign of leadership sympathy, Vice President Zeng Qinghong reportedly met Zhao's family), a definite effort on the part of the new Post-Jiang Zemin leadership towards treating the demise in a low key manner in order to minimize public reaction, is visible. The media made only terse announcements of the death and they carried no separate articles on Zhao Also, all indications are that Zhao would not be given a State funeral due to fears over chances of the occasion triggering popular protests affecting stability, as happened after the death of Zhou Enlai and Hu Yaobang, former Premier and Party Chief respectively. ( In contrast, the media gave publicity to the funeral committee formed in the case of former top Party leader Song Renqiung who passed away early January). Western reports have covered an internal Party Circular issued after Zhao's death which asked the cadres to guard against' attempts to undermine social and political stability by hostile foreign forces and disaffected elements within the country'. The low key approach needs to be understood also in the current domestic political context. Both Jiang Zemin and Li Peng ( his associate Luo Gan, now a member of the powerful politburo standing committee), who are still around as veteran leaders, may oppose any posthumous political rehabilitation of a person whom they firmly condemned in 1989. For them, such a step would mean a reevaluation of the 1989 student protests, which stands characterized as a 'turmoil'. The new Hu Jintao leadership, consisting of Premier Wen Jiabao who was associated with Zhao once, have to take note of such opposition.  What does Zhao' s death would mean in the present context? Fifteen years have passed since the Tian An Men student protests. Over the years, lot of changes have happened. The country could reach the status of a world economic power with a political clout and the peoples standard of living has risen substantially. Political expectations may have arisen during the course of economic reforms, but a pro-democracy protest of magnitude as seen in 1989, appears unlikely in China for years to come. The Chinese leadership adheres to its own 'socialists democracy' concept. The new leader Hu Jintao, like his predecessor Jiang Jemin, has completely ruled out a Western-type multi-party system for China. Is there any political legacy left behind by Zhao?  The answer is no, considering the existing situation. (Writer is Research Fellow, ORF, Chennai Chapter. email:dsrajan@orfonline.org )
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