Former president who led China’s transition dies at age of 96

FORMER Chinese president Jiang Zemin has died aged 96, China’s state television reported yesterday.

Mr Jiang led his country out of isolation after the crushing of prodemocracy protests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1989, while also supporting economic reforms that led to a decade of explosive growth.

A surprise choice to lead a divided Communist Party after the 1989 crackdown, Mr Jiang saw China through history-making changes including a revival of market-oriented reforms, the return of Hong Kong from British rule in 1997 and Beijing’s entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2001.

Even as China opened up to the outside world, Mr Jiang’s government stamped out dissent at home. It jailed human rights, labour and pro-democracy activists and banned the Falun Gong movement, which it viewed as a threat to the Communist Party’s monopoly on power.

Mr Jiang gave up his last official title in 2004 but remained a force behind the scenes in the wrangling that led to the rise of China’s current president, Xi Jinping, who assumed power in 2012. Mr Xi has stuck to Mr Jiang’s mix of economic liberalisation and strict political controls.

A former soap factory manager, Mr Jiang capped his career with the Communist era’s first orderly succession, handing over his post as party leader in 2002 to Hu Jintao, who assumed the presidency in 2003.