China's Jiang Zemin dies at 96, prompting wave of nostalgia - Reuters.com

BEIJING, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, who led the state for a decennary of accelerated economical maturation aft the Tiananmen crackdown successful 1989, died connected Wednesday astatine the property of 96, prompting a question of nostalgia for the much wide times helium oversaw.

Jiang died successful his location metropolis of Shanghai conscionable aft noon connected Wednesday of leukaemia and aggregate organ failure, Xinhua quality bureau said, publishing a missive to the Chinese radical by the ruling Communist Party, parliament, Cabinet and the military.

"Comrade Jiang Zemin's decease is an incalculable nonaccomplishment to our Party and our subject and our radical of each taste groups," the missive read, saying its announcement was with "profound grief".

Jiang's death comes astatine a tumultuous clip successful China, wherever authorities are grappling with uncommon wide street protests among residents fed up with heavy-handed COVID-19 curbs astir 3 years into the pandemic.

The zero-COVID argumentation is simply a hallmark of President Xi Jinping, who precocious secured a 3rd enactment word that cements his spot arsenic China's astir almighty person since Mao Zedong and has taken China successful an progressively authoritarian absorption since replacing Jiang's contiguous successor, Hu Jintao.

China is besides successful the midst of a crisp economical slowdown exacerbated by zero-COVID.

Even though Jiang enactment down pupil protests successful Shanghai that were portion of the question of pro-democracy demonstrations that culminated successful the bloody crackdown astatine Beijing's Tiananmen Square, immoderate Chinese expressed nostalgia for Jiang's epoch arsenic a clip of optimism arsenic good arsenic anticipation for economical liberalisation and governmental freedom.

Jiang, though helium could person a fierce temper, besides had an informal and adjacent quirky side, sometimes bursting into song, reciting poems oregon playing philharmonic instruments - successful opposition to his buttoned-up successor Hu, arsenic good arsenic to Xi.

Many posted videos and pictures online of Jiang's meetings with erstwhile U.S. President Bill Clinton, including 1 country wherever the brace are each smiles arsenic Jiang conducts a subject set for portion of the Chinese nationalist anthem.

Numerous users of China's Twitter-like Weibo level described the decease of Jiang, who remained influential aft yet retiring successful 2004, arsenic the extremity of an era.

"I'm precise sad, not lone for his departure, but besides due to the fact that I truly consciousness that an epoch is over," a Henan province-based idiosyncratic wrote.

"As if what has happened wasn't enough, 2022 tells radical successful a much brutal mode that an epoch is over," a Beijing Weibo idiosyncratic posted.

Alfred Wu, subordinate prof astatine the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy successful Singapore, tweeted: "Jiang Zemin is simply a legend."

"Now we are 'too simple, sometimes naive' arsenic we thought the authorities would march towards openness, transparency, and democracy," helium said, referencing a furious dressing-down Jiang gave to Hong Kong reporters successful 2000.

PLUCKED FROM OBSCURITY

The online pages of authorities media sites including the People's Daily and Xinhua turned to achromatic and achromatic successful mourning.

Xi, gathering Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith soon aft Jiang had died, said China would crook "our grief into strength", according to authorities media.

Wednesday's missive described "our beloved Comrade Jiang Zemin" arsenic an outstanding person of precocious prestige, a large Marxist, statesman, subject strategist and diplomat and a long-tested communist fighter.

Jiang was plucked from obscurity to caput China's ruling Communist Party aft the Tiananmen crackdown, but broke the state retired of its consequent diplomatic isolation, mending fences with the United States and overseeing an unprecedented economical boom.

He served arsenic president from 1993 to 2003 but held China's apical job, arsenic caput of the ruling Communist Party, from 1989 and handed implicit that relation to Hu successful 2002. He lone gave up the presumption arsenic caput of the subject successful 2004, which helium besides assumed successful 1989.

When Jiang retired, it was said by sources adjacent to the enactment astatine the clip that everyplace Hu looked helium would spot the supporters of his predecessor.

Jiang had stacked China's astir almighty enactment body, the Politburo Standing Committee, with his ain protégées, galore of them from the alleged "Shanghai Gang".

But successful the years aft Jiang retired from his last post, the subject committee chairmanship successful 2004, Hu consolidated his grip, neutralised the Shanghai Gang and successfully anointed Xi arsenic successor.

Reporting by Tony Munroe, Yew Lun Tian, Ben Blanchard, Eduardo Baptista and Martin Quin Pollard; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Nick Macfie

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