Free Republic

Zhao Ziyang, former Secretary-General of mainland China’s Communist Party, died at a Beijing hospital last Monday. Good riddance to another communist? In this case, no. Not all tigers are incapable of changing their stripes. During his tenure in China’s one and only political party, Zhao took steps that truly can be called “reforms.” Zhao's greatest moment occurred during the pro-democracy rebellion of 1989, which was centered in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. He opposed the use of China’s vast military might against the peaceful protestors gathered in the square. On May 19, 1989, Zhao personally pleaded with the protestors, mostly...

China crops its history By Robert Marquand | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor HONG KONG – When Britain's Margaret Thatcher signed the 1984 agreement handing Hong Kong over to China, the man she signed it with was one of China's brightest lights, reform-minded premier Zhao Ziyang. It was a moment of great hope, with lots of pride and a sense that China, after years under the yoke of Mao Zedong, would become a forward-looking, less extreme state. Yet official photos of that signing now blur or diminish Zhao, or crop him out entirely. Zhao, who opposed the bloody...

The Chinese government confirmed Tuesday that Zhao Ziyang, the purged Communist Party chief, had been hospitalized but denied a published report that he had died. Mr. Zhao, who has lived under house arrest in Beijing for more than 15 years, has become a living symbol for many Chinese who believe that the government should apologize for its violent crackdown at Tiananmen. Hundreds of protesters, perhaps more, were killed in 1989 when troops were ordered to open fire.