China on Friday marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of former leader Hu Yaobang, whose death led to the 1989 Tiananmen pro-democracy student movement.
It is unclear what level of commemoration activity Beijing will hold for the beloved leader, whose liberal-leaning policies cost him the highest position in the Communist Party in 1987.
According to a 1996 party document, centennial birthday anniversaries of “main leaders of the party and the state” should be celebrated with a commemorative convention attended by current leaders.
In an interview with financial media outlet Caixin last month, Hu’s son Hu Deping said the central government “had made very good arrangements” to mark the important date. However, no details were offered.
In 2005, the 90th anniversary of Hu’s birth was celebrated with a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Then premier Wen Jiabao attended but then president Hu Jintao did not.
Incumbent President and CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping returned to Beijing on Thursday afternoon after attending a Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the Philippines. Analysts speculated that Xi returned home early instead of paying a state visit to the host country of an APEC summit, which seemed to be a routine in the past, because he planned to attend Hu’s commemoration.
State news agency Xinhua reported that a book containing a collection of Hu’s articles, speeches and letters – many of which were unseen by the public before – was published on Friday. Sohu News cited unnamed sources as saying state broadcaster CCTV’s Channel One will air a five-chapter documentary about Hu’s life starting on Friday.
Born to a farmer’s family in Hunan on November 20, 1915, Hu joined the Communist Party in the 1930s and was “purged” during the cultural revolution in 1966-1976. After becoming the general secretary of the party in 1982, Hu led work to rehabilitate disgraced cadres and carried out economic and political reforms. He was forced to resign in 1987 and passed away on April 15, 1989. In the weeks following his death, memorial activities in Beijing developed into a pro-democracy student movement, which was brutally cracked down upon on June 4, 1989.
