China Mutes Memorialization Of Reformer Hu Yaobang

Chinese authorities were on high alert in Gongqingcheng, China, where the late reformist leader Hu Yaobang’s grave is located, as the day marked the 35th anniversary of his death, according to a report by Daisuke Kawase for Yomiuri Shimbun.

During the memorial service held, which was attended by Hu’s family members and other related individuals, nearly 100 plainclothes police officers closely monitored the surrounding area and restricted access to the venue to only those associated with the event. I Photo: thierry ehrmann Flickr

Hu served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in the 1980s.

Instead of being buried in the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery in the Beijing suburbs, where many party officials are interred, Hu was laid to rest in the city of Jiangxi Province, which he developed while leading young people as the head of the Communist Youth League of China.

Local authorities reported that a memorial service was held on Monday, attended by Hu’s family members and other related individuals.

During the event, nearly 100 plainclothes police officers closely monitored the surrounding area and restricted access to the venue to only those associated with the event.

In the 1980s, under paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, Hu championed China’s reform and opening-up policy.

He cultivated a personal relationship of trust with then-Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, ushering in an era known as the “golden age of Japan-China relations.”

However, Hu faced criticism from conservatives for his handling of student demonstrations at the end of 1986, leading to his resignation as general secretary of the party in January 1987.

He was regarded as a man of integrity. Following his sudden death in 1989, mourners gathered to commemorate him, culminating in the Tiananmen Square incident on June 4 of the same year.