British Embassy
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11 Guang Hua Lu Jian Guo Men Wai Peking People's Republic of China
Telex 22191 Cable Prodrome Peking Telephone 521961/2/3/4/5
Richard Fletcher-Cooke Esq
89 H45 02011
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Moth do them
vey
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Whoyling of Dan All ory slightly 18/5 work pishines (96 fishyas
62-2014
Your reference
Our reférence
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02 JUN 1227 Dats
JY
014/1
27 April 1987
2017: (CD
De
HU YAOBANG
Mr Mare Hhers.
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Further mores againt Ith You Bay which weaken the position of his followers.
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Wu,
1. You will probably have seen the Reuter's story that Hu Yaobang has come under renewed criticism in a central document issued to Military Region Commanders recently. The document is said to have reiterated past criticism of Hu Yaobang and added some new ones including that he had attempted to form a faction whose members consisted of Hu Qili, Wu Xueqian, Ruan Chongwu and Jia Chunwang. The existence of this faction had been brought to light when Hu Qili made a clean breast of it to Deng Xiaoping. Hu Yaobang was also accused of having arrogantly touted Hu Qili as his heir by introducing him as such to foreign visitors. The document said that China had now moved very far from this method of appointment.
2. Hu is now formally the last ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee, and care is taken in the Chinese press to observe the dictates of protocol when for example he is listed as sending a wreath to the memorial meeting for a former comrade. He has appeared on only two occasions since his resignation, at the opening of the NPC session and now again on 22 April to cast his vote in the local elections for Beijing municipality.
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3. If the Reuter report is substantially correct, it would appear that there are those pushing for a further reduction in Hu's status. The intention behind such a move would presumably be to ensure that there was no chance of a come back by Hu, for which formally at least he is still quite well placed. It would also help see that Hu's supporters (or faction as they would be termed in the language of political insult) are kept off balance and less able to stake or defend their claim in the dividing up of political power that will occur when the decisions on the form of the future leadership are taken at the Party Congress. To my mind the latter is probably a more important motive. I think Hu Yaobang will find it exceptionall: hard to make a come back, and that the most likely fate in store for him is a gradual sink into oblivion as was arranged for Hua Guofeng. But Hu was influential for many years in personnel appointments in the leadership and there is considerable evidence that he built up a network of his former colleagues in the Communist Youth Leage.
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