Xinhua news agency reported that former Chinese president Jiang Zemin died today at the age of 96.
Jiang Zemin died at 12:13 a.m. (11:13 a.m. Hanoi time) in Shanghai. According toXinhua, Jiang Zemin suffered from leukemia and multiple organ failure, which, although he was treated wholeheartedly, did not survive. Shanghai is also his hometown.
Xinhua praised Jiang Zemin as “the outstanding leader of socialism with Chinese characteristics” and the main founder of the “Three Representatives” doctrine. “Comrade Jiang Zemin’s departure is a great loss for the party, the army and the people,” the statement said.
According toCCTV, Beijing’s Tiananmen Square and government buildings flew flags. Chinesemissions abroad will also fly flags during the mourning period.
Jiang Zemin’s funeral organizers, led by President Xi Jinping, have not yet announced a time for the funeral.
Xinhua’s interface has been switched to black and white. Chinese media outlets have posted a photo of the black and white chrysanthemum on their Weibo accounts.
Jiang Zemin was the core leader of China’s third generation of leaders, which lasted from 1992 to 2003, considered a booming period for China’s economy with the “Three Representatives” doctrine.
According to this doctrine, the Chinese Communist Party represents the development needs of advanced social production forces, represents the development direction of advanced culture, represents the interests of the masses of the people.
When Jiang Zemin became leader in 1989, China was in the early stages of economic modernization. By the time he retired in 2003, China was already a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), won the right to host the 2008 Olympics and was on its way to becoming a superpower.
Under his leadership, China experienced a period of sustained development with a series of reforms, withdrawing Hong Kong from Britain and Macau from Portugal. However, in parallel with the achievements, some problems in the Chinese economy also appear such as environmental pollution and the widening gap between rich and poor.
At the 20th Chinese Communist Party Congress in October, Jiang Zemin was elected to the standing committee of the Presidium, which oversees the 46-member congress. However, he did not attend the congress, apparently for health reasons.
Jiang Zemin last appeared in public in October 2019, when he and other former leaders witnessed a military parade in Tiananmen Square, the 70th anniversary of China’s national day.
