BEIJING: Jiang Zemin has led China through a period of dramatic change since coming to power in the painful aftermath of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
He died on Wednesday at the age of 96, JEE News reported.
Jiang rose from a factory engineer to the leader of the world’s most populous country, leading China to emerge as the global trade, military and political power it is today.
When he took office in 1989, China was still in the cautious early stages of economic modernization and an international pariah with regard to the crushing of the Tiananmen pro-democracy movement.
But by the time Jiang stepped down as president in 2003, China was a member of the World Trade Organization, Britain had ceded Hong Kong, Beijing had won the 2008 Olympics, and the country was a superpower. He was on his way.
Analysts say Jiang and his “Shanghai Gang” faction continued to exert influence over Communist politics, including the election of Xi Jinping as president in 2012.
However, his power was believed to have waned as the XI grew in influence.
Xi has become China’s most powerful political figure since Zedong, who recently broke the norm for a third term as Communist Party leader.
An electrical engineer by training who spent his early career in factories, Jiang lacked the revolutionary credentials and prestige of his predecessor, Deng Xiaoping, who used him to spearhead a new generation of leaders.
Seen by many as a transitional figure, Jiang suffered politically after Tiananmen.
But after Deng’s booming tour of the southern provinces in 1992, Jiang proved an ardent champion of his mentor’s “reforms and openness” to lift China’s people out of poverty.
“Without solving the problem (of economic survival) first, any other right will be difficult to achieve,” Jiang said in 1997.
State control over the economy was further dismantled by his Premier Zhou Rongji, and foreign relations — especially with the United States — improved significantly.
“It takes two hands to clap,” Jiang said of Sino-US relations in 2001.
Quirky image
Jiang was the leader of the so-called “third generation” of Chinese Communist leaders, a more technical and professional ruling elite that followed the early revolutionaries.
In the eyes of foreigners, the generational change was huge.
Jiang broke the stereotype of the strict communist leader — with his broad smile, big glasses, command of several languages ​​and sometimes clownish demeanor — including cracking jokes in English.
An avid pianist, Jiang was known to play songs on foreign tours, including a memorable rendition of Elvis Presley’s “Love Me Tender” during his official visit to the Philippines.
Yet his legacy as a leader is mixed and his critics numerous.
Jiang was criticized for failing to address new problems arising from China’s economic recovery: rampant corruption and inequality, environmental degradation and state sector reforms that led to massive bailouts.
Rights campaigners condemned its crackdown on political activists and the spiritual cult of the Falun Gong. He was resented by many as an inept technocrat who tried unsuccessfully to reconcile his legacy with that of Mao and Deng.
Brushing off foreign criticism of China’s human rights record, Jiang once equated democratic development with Einstein’s “theory of relativity,” insisting the country would progress at its own pace.
However, others felt that they were too enthusiastic towards the West.
Nepotism also became a sore point in the higher ranks. His own sons have been accused of using their names to get ahead, Jiang Mian Heng is widely believed to control large companies, and Jiang Mian Kong is alleged He is a senior military general.
Military chief
A native of eastern Jiangsu province, Jiang was born into a relatively wealthy family in 1926 and grew up under Japanese wartime occupation.
Participating in underground student movements, he joined the Communist Party in 1946, before training as an engineer in Moscow and later distinguishing himself in state-owned industry.
With the help of powerful patrons, Jiang became mayor of Shanghai in 1985 and later head of its Communist Party, thrusting him into the party’s national inner circle.
In 1989, during a major dispute at the top over the handling of Tiananmen and China’s economic trajectory, Deng tapped the undisputed Jiang over other high-ranking candidates to rule the party, with Deng as the most important leader. stay
Jiang was praised for his peaceful end to the Tiananmen-inspired protests in Shanghai, and was awarded other important titles, including military chief.
‘Ram Worshipers’
Jiang was succeeded by Hu Jintao in 2002, but he clung to the reins of power until 2004, when he finally stepped down as China’s military chief.
His behind-the-scenes influence overshadowed Ho’s presidency, limiting his power to make bold political reforms.
In recent years, Jiang has become an unexpectedly viral meme among millennial and Gen Z Chinese fans, who call themselves “toad worshipers” because of his frog-like face and quirky style.
During Xi’s three-hour marathon speech at the 2017 Communist Party Congress, netizens cheered when Jiang apparently fell asleep and repeatedly checked his watch, or examined documents with a large magnifying glass. .
Jiang did not attend the opening or closing ceremonies of last month’s party congress — where Xi was installed as party chief for a third term — sparking concerns over possible ill health.
Jiang is survived by his wife Wang Yiping and two sons.
