Death of Hu Yaobang

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On April 8, 1989, Hu Yaobang, the former General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, was hospitalized in Beijing^[1] due to a sudden heart attack. He passed away at 7:53 AM on April 15 at the age of 74, and his death served as a catalyst for the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.^[2]

During the Spring Festival of 1989, Hu Yaobang left Beijing for a vacation in Hunan, where he developed a Common cold that led to cardiovascular disease. After emergency treatment, his condition stabilized, and he was later moved to Guangxi for rest. In early March, Hu, politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, returned to Beijing after attending the National People's Congress, where he appeared noticeably thinner in public.^[3]

On the morning of April 8, around 10 a.m. General Secretary Zhao Ziyang chaired an expanded meeting of the Political Bureau at the Huairen Hall in Zhongnanhai, in preparation for During the discussion on the draft of the "Decision on Education Issues by the Central Committee," Hu Yaobang suddenly suffered a heart attack and raised his hand to request a break. Zhao Ziyang advised Hu to stabilize himself and immediately instructed the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party to find a doctor. Jiang Zemin, Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, took out two pills, though it is unclear^[4] if they were actually used.^[5] Soon after, Dr. Qian Yijian and Dr. Wang Minqing from Beijing Hospital arrived and diagnosed Hu with a myocardial infarction. By 2 p.m., Hu was transported to Beijing Hospital. Although he had passed the critical phase, his condition remained stable.^[6]

On the morning of April 15, Hu Yaobang woke up, defecated, ate watermelon, and asked the staff about "the situation outside."^[7] He was in pain and could not speak. A large area of ​​blood vessels in his left chest ruptured, causing a large area of ​​myocardial infarction. He died at 7:53 in the morning.^[8]

After Hu Yaobang's death, because he had served as(he had served as chairman and general secretary), the funeral was held in accordance with the standards for List of national leaders of the People's Republic of China . The actual standards were higher than those of Ye Jianying, Standing Committee of the National People's Congress，who had served as the head of state. On April 22, Hu Yaobang's memorial service was held in the Great Hall of the People. President Yang Shangkun presided over the memorial service, General Secretary of the CCP Central Committee Zhao Ziyang delivered a eulogy, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission Deng Xiaoping and other party and state leaders, as well as thousands of people from all walks of life, cadres and the masses attended the memorial service.^[9]

The official obituary stated:

"Comrade Hu Yaobang was a time-tested and loyal communist fighter, a great proletarian revolutionary and statesman, an outstanding political worker in our army, and an outstanding leader who held important leadership positions in the Party for a long time."^[10]

On the road from Tiananmen Square to Babaoshan, people stood in silence on both sides. His sudden death created a strong echo among students and became the initial impetus for the people of the capital to gather.^[11] Posters praising Hu Yaobang appeared on university campuses one after another, calling on the CCP Central Committee to re-examine Hu Yaobang's views.^[12] A few days later, these calls expanded to include issues such as press freedom, democratic system and official corruption.^[13] A small-scale spontaneous rally took place near the Monument to the People's Heroes in Tiananmen Square to mourn Hu Yaobang.^[14][15] On the campuses of major universities in Beijing, various big-character posters appeared, using the mourning of Hu to criticize the "Gerontocracy" that forced Hu Yaobang to step down in 1987. Based on sympathy for Hu Yaobang's experience and respect for his open and honest image, as well as dissatisfaction with the serious corruption and bribery caused by Chinese economic reform, young students at the time came out to mourn Hu Yaobang, which led to the subsequent joint student and civil movement and ultimately the "June 4 Tiananmen Incident".^[16]

According to the request made by Hu Yaobang's wife Li Zhao to the CCP Central Committee, on December 15, 1990, Hu Yaobang's ashes were transported from Beijing and buried in Gongqingcheng, Jiangxi, which he founded during his lifetime. Accompanied by Wen Jiabao, then director of the General Office of the CCP Central Committee, his eldest son Hu Deping respectfully held his father's ashes and buried them in Fuhuashan Cemetery.^[17][18][19]

On the eve of the June 4 Tiananmen Incident, the government held various levels of mourning activities, including a high-level memorial service held in the Great Hall of the People with the participation of Deng Xiaoping and other leaders. Since Hu Yaobang had served as the Leader of the Chinese Communist Party of party chairman and general secretary (ranked first in the party), the memorial service was half a level higher than when Ye Jianying, former chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (equivalent to the head of state when presidency was repealed, ranked second in the party), died.^[20] In the years after June 4, the Chinese government gradually lowered the level of commemoration activities for Hu Yaobang, until 2005, when the then General Secretary of the CCP Hu Jintao proposed that a higher level of commemoration be held, such as the symposiums and leaders' articles in 2005 and 2010.^[21]

On November 18, 2005, the CCP Central Committee held a "Symposium to Commemorate the 90th Anniversary of the Birth of Comrade Hu Yaobang" at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. This was the first high-level official commemoration of Hu Yaobang after the "June 4th Incident". According to Xinhua News Agency, "Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CCP Central Committee and Premier of the State Council Wen Jiabao attended the symposium. Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CCP Central Committee and Vice President Zeng Qinghong delivered an important speech at the meeting. The symposium was chaired by Wu Guanzheng, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CCP Central Committee and Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection."^[22] In his speech, Zeng Qinghong highly praised Hu Yaobang's life.^[23] The beginning of the second paragraph repeated the original words of the evaluation in the CCP Central Committee's obituary:

"Comrade Hu Yaobang devoted his entire life to the cause of the Party and the people. As a Marxist, his life was glorious."

At the same time, Hu Yaobang's former residence in Liuyang, Hunan has been restored to its original appearance. The new Hu Yaobang Life and Achievements Exhibition Hall, located opposite the former residence, is also under intense construction and is ready to open on November 20.^[24] In addition, the first volume of "Hu Yaobang's Biography" was released on November 25 (the first print run was hundreds of thousands of copies), and the related "Endless Missing - Recalling Father Hu Yaobang" (the first print run was 200,000 copies) and the previously banned "Yanhuang Chunqiu" November 2005 issue were also released for publication. On December 7, China Youth Daily "Freezing Point （magazine）" published Hu Qili's article "Yaobang in my heart", which was the first article in the newspaper's 16 years to commemorate Hu.^[25]

On April 15, 2010, Wen Jiabao, then member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CCP Central Committee and Premier of the State Council, published a signed article titled "Returning to Xingyi to Remember Hu Yaobang" in the People's Daily on the 21st anniversary of Hu Yaobang's death.^[26] Wen Jiabao, who had worked with Hu Yaobang for nearly two years, said in the article: "I personally experienced Comrade Yaobang's excellent style of keeping close contact with the masses and caring about their sufferings, as well as his selfless and upright character. I witnessed with my own eyes how he devoted himself to his work day and night for the cause of the Party and the interests of the people. I have kept his earnest teachings in mind, and his words and deeds have made me dare not slack off.^[27]" The article echoed Zeng Qinghong's speech at the symposium commemorating the 90th anniversary of Hu Yaobang's birth in 2005, emphasizing Hu Yaobang's selfless work, courage to reform, love for the people, and down-to-earth style of focusing on investigation and research. It also reflected the encouragement and hope of the CCP's top leaders for cadres at all levels in the context of complex social contradictions.^[28]

On January 6, 2013, a bronze statue of Hu Yaobang was placed on Dachen Island in Taizhou, Zhejiang to commemorate the land reclamation activities he called for and led in 1956.^[29]

On April 15, 2013, the anniversary of Hu Yaobang's death, official media in mainland China, including the Liberation Daily and the People's Daily, published articles mourning Hu Yaobang, marking the first time such mourning has appeared since General Secretary Xi Jinping and other new CCP Central Committee leaders came to power.^[30][31][32]

On April 11, 2014, Hu Jintao, the former General Secretary of the CCP who had stepped down for more than a year, accompanied by Xu Shousheng, Secretary of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, and other officials, visited the former residence of Hu Yaobang in Zhonghe Town, Liuyang, Hunan. He stayed there for an hour and bowed to the bronze statue of Hu Yaobang. This event was strictly blocked in mainland China.^[33] Hu Yaobang's son Hu Dehua [zh] said in an interview with Taiwanese media that Hu Jintao was just a civilian after he stepped down, and his visit to Yaobang's former residence was just a personal act and did not represent the official position of the Chinese government.^[34]

In November 2015, the CCP Central Committee solemnly arranged commemorative activities for the 100th anniversary of the birth of Comrade Hu Yaobang. CCP Central Committee General Secretary Xi Jinping and national leaders of the People's Republic of China personally attended the commemorative meeting on the 20th, and General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered a speech.^[35]

Civilian commemorations began almost immediately after the news of Hu Yaobang's death was made public, initially starting in universities in Beijing but gradually turning into a student movement until it was terminated by the military on June 4.^[36]

At 8 a.m. on April 17, the State Council sent an official to meet with student representatives Guo Haifeng Guo Haifeng [zh] and Wang Dan. During this time, the number of people expressing support continued to increase. By 9 p.m., about 20,000 students had gathered at Tiananmen Square. On that day, more than 700 big-character posters about Hu Yaobang appeared in several universities in Beijing, and police and the public confronted each other at Xinhua Gate.^[37] The situation in other cities was relatively stable. In Shanghai, thousands of students from Fudan University and Tongji University gathered at the city government, and in Nanjing, 10,000 students mourned at Drum Tower Square [zh], but the activities soon ended peacefully.^[38]

After the attack on Xinhuamen Square, the People's Daily published an editorial titled "How We Mourn Comrade Yaobang", stating that such incidents that undermine stability and unity are absolutely not allowed. On April 26, the People's Daily published an editorial titled "April 26 Editorial" (April 26 Editorial) on the front page, characterizing the student movement as turmoil. The student organizations responded by starting strikes and hunger strikes. The conflict between the two sides gradually intensified, eventually leading to the authorities using the military to expel the students from Tiananmen Square.^[39]

• Hu Yaobang
• Hu Yaobang steps down [zh]
• Hu Yaobang's Former Residence
• Hu Yaobang's Tomb [zh]
• 1976 Tiananmen incident (In memory of Zhou Enlai)
• 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre
• Death and state funeral of Mao Zedong
• Death of Zhou Enlai [zh]
• Death of Deng Xiaoping [zh]