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UK CONFIDENTIAL (nect, 1911)
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CHINA: IMPLICATIONS OF HU YAOBANG'S RESIGNATION
1.
were
He
their
Hu Yaobang has resigned as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist
has been replaced, on an
Premier Zhao Party.
acting basis, by
Ziyang. Earlier in the week two university officials, and two writers
dismissed from
posts. This reaction to the student
demonstrations is likely to affect the pace of Deng Xiaoping's reform policies in the run-up to the 1987 Party Congress and will certainly
almost Carterly alienate the intellectuals. Deng's retirement will probably have to be
postponed.
Recent Events
2. On 16 January the New China News Agency (NCNA) announced that Hu Yaobang, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), had offered his resignation after making a self-criticism of his political mistakes. The political bureau of the CCP accepted his resignation and
elected Premier Zhao Ziyang as acting General Secretary. No replacement for Zhao has yet been named and he now holds both posts. These changes follow a period of uncertainty over Hu's sons. He has not appeared in public since the end of December, and there are media reports that Deng criticised him strongly at a leadership meeting in the first week of
January.
standing
He appeared
4 comment
3. Although Hu Yaobang has been regarded as Deng's protege for many
he has often been the target of internal Party criticism. years, fared to take the chair at last year's Party plenum on political reform, leaving
obliging Deng himself to take his place. Despite his position in the Party, Hu has also proved unacceptable to the armed forces and has not been elected Chairman of the Military Commission to replace Deng, latter originally wished. He has committed several public gaffes and,
text in unusually amongst the CPC leadership, often departs from his formal speeches. He is personally associated with political reform and a
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