In China, former president and Party leader Jiang Zemin is commemorated at a state funeral. Traditionally, during events like this, demonstrations against the Communist Party are held under the guise of mourning. Chinese rulers then hermetically sealed off large parts of Beijing, says Sinologist Boudewijn Poldermans of the Netherlands China Business Council.
“There’s a tradition of protest,” Poldermans says. “It was like this twice before. The first time was in 1976 during the funeral of Prime Minister Zhou Enlai, which resulted in mass protests against Mao Zedong. Those protests were brutally repressed. It was the first time that the Party did not organize a mass demonstration. The second time was in 1989 after the death of the beloved Hu Yaobang, who was deposed in 1987 and died in 1989”.
Solid resume
According to Poldermans, Jiang had an impressive record. He led China after the Tiananmen Square uprising as Deng Xiaoping’s successor, ensured a thriving socialist market economy because he was the first to allow Chinese people to open small shops. After his retirement in 2002, China’s economy had tripled and foreign relations had greatly improved.
Under his rule, the British crown colony of Hong Kong also reverted to China, China joined the WTO World Trade Organization, and thanks to him the 2008 Olympics came to Beijing.
Commemoration
At 10am local time, sirens rang across the country to mark three minutes of silence for the former president, who died last week. In Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, President Xi Jinping and senior Communist Party officials gathered for a live-televised memorial service. On Tuesday, flags will fly everywhere at half-mast. Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges temporarily suspended trading.
Jiang died on Wednesday in Shanghai at the age of 96 and was cremated on Monday. He died of leukemia and organ failure. Jiang led the People’s Republic of China from 1993 to 2003. He Started his career as a factory electrician, but rose in the ranks of the Communist Party. He became general secretary in 1989, shortly after the bloody crackdown on protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
Source: BNR
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
