FORMER CHINESE PRESIDENT JIANG ZEMIN DIES AT 96

Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, who led the country for a decade of rapid economic growth after the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989, died on Wednesday at the age of 96, prompting a wave of nostalgia for the more liberal times he oversaw.

Jiang died in his home city of Shanghai just after noon on Wednesday of leukaemia and multiple organ failure, Xinhua news agency said. “Comrade Jiang Zemin’s death is an incalculable loss to our Party and our military and our people,” it said.