Huang Ju
Encyclopedia
Huang Ju (28 September 1938 – 2 June 2007) was the Executive Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China
. He joined the Communist Party of China
in March 1966. He was ranked 6th out of 9
, and was one of the least popular and most partisan members of the Politburo Standing Committee
of the Party
. Huang, considered "one of China's most mysterious politicians", was a powerful member of the Shanghai clique
.
Having been both the Mayor of Shanghai and the city's party chief in the 1990s, Huang enjoyed very close relations with his patron Jiang Zemin
, he was known to be strongly opposed to General Secretary and President Hu Jintao
. During his tenure in Shanghai Huang and his family members were involved in various corruption cases. He died in office on 2 June 2007.
, Zhejiang Province
(浙江嘉善) as Huang Deyu (黄德钰), Huang was the second of five children. He attended Tsinghua University
(清华大学) in 1956–63 where he graduated in Electrical Engineering
.
In 1987, Huang became one of the chosen candidates for the Mayor of Shanghai, and therefore a CCP Central Committee member, but he was embarrassed by the low number of votes supporting his candidacy in Shanghai's Municipal Congress. Huang therefore did not become Mayor and Zhu Rongji
was subsequently elected Mayor in his place. When Zhu became Premier after his transfer to the Central Government in Beijing, Huang became mayor of Shanghai in 1991 and then city's Party chief in 1994, which he served until October 2002. Although he led the eastern commercial hub in a continuous era of prosperity and development, he is known to have achieved fairly little in Shanghai.
Huang served in a role to keep the city's party organization in line, and is remembered for by some as having raised the salary levels of Shanghai people. Among recent ex-mayors of Shanghai, Huang was also the least popular, due to his suppression of popular mayor Xu Kuangdi
. Huang's reputation in the city is incomparable to that of Zhu Rongji or even Chen Liangyu, and had a very negative image.
Due to his extremely low popularity inside the party and in the public eye, Huang's move to Beijing after Jiang Zemin
's retirement in 2002 was subject to great controversy. In May 1994, after Huang's installation as the Shanghai party chief, his wife Yu Huiwen, along with Shanghai official Chen Tiedi opened a charity organization. This charity organization reputedly became the source of illegal money laundering
for Huang's wife and close colleagues, who received "donations" from the business elite. Although some of this money did indeed go to charity, there was a large amount of funds whose whereabouts is still unknown. It is unclear what Huang's involvement were in this process, but it is clear that his power in Shanghai gave an operating pass of sorts to his family.
Huang is also widely believed to be implicated in the Shanghai real estate scandals involving Zhou Zhengyi
, one of Shanghai's big-name business elites. Huang did little to stop monopolies in Shanghai's booming real estate sector, and there was some discontent and public protests resulted from in residents being evicted from their homes (with little or no compensation) to make way for new construction. Zhou was eventually charged with multiple counts of fraud, but was only sentenced to three years in prison, which analysts speculated was largely due to Huang's exerting his influence on the municipal courts. In addition, Huang's wife, Yu Huiwen, controlled the Shanghai pension fund, and was linked to Zhang Rongkun
, who was at the centre of allegations of misappropriation of the fund's money. Huang's brother, who was made a high-ranking executive of a Pudong
development firm, also moved funds for personal uses.
His position as First Vice-Premier was considered largely a figurehead
role and had very little power, especially when compared to previous First Vice-Premiers Yao Yilin
and Li Lanqing
. His official portfolios were to oversee finance and banking.
Although the national media stressed his return, Huang was believed to be next in the firing line in the corruption probe after the dismissal of his close colleague Chen Liangyu
in September 2006. Huang's involvement with the Shanghai Pension Fund Scandals is unclear, as the Chinese government has thus far kept much of the investigation under wraps.
reported that Huang was seriously ill, and was expected to step down. Although some government officials said that he had pancreatic cancer
, the party never officially disclosed the nature of his condition. In stating that Huang was recovering from an undisclosed illness,
On 17 March, sources reported that he was near death. Nevertheless, some sources suggested his sudden disappearance from the public might also have been the result of an internal power struggle, in which Huang was purged to make way for Hu
and Wen
loyalists.
Huang attended a Science and Technology forum in Beijing on 5 June 2006, which some suggest was for the sole purpose of letting the public know that he was still alive and well.
After giving a keynote speech at the State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) executives' conference on 5 January 2007, he was notably absent at the Central Conference on Financial Affairs later on that month. Although his condolences were accounted for, rank-appropriate, during Communist elder Bo Yibo
's funeral, his absence prompted speculation that Huang's critical condition was preventing him from carrying out his official duties. Hong Kong media speculated that Huang was undergoing treatment in Shanghai. Huang reappeared, looking very frail, during the National People's Congress
in March 2007.
It was widely speculated that Huang had already requested to be allowed to resign by March 2007, and that afterwards his normally powerful position became purely ceremonial. He had reportedly handed over his role of oversight of Financial Affairs portfolio to premier Wen Jiabao
in January. It had been expected that Huang would formally retire by the 17th Party Congress in November 2007, where there would be a major reshuffle of posts of party apparatus.
Official sources reported no significant events after he attended a panel discussion with legislators from Shanghai on 7 March 2007.
Huang was reported, at the end of April 2007, to have left Shanghai, and had been admitted to the 301 Military Hospital in Beijing to receive treatment. There were further reports on 8 May that his condition had deteriorated.
reported that he had died on the morning of 9 May 2007, and the next day noted the "surprise" of its source in the hospital at the State council's denial. Reports were widely circulated.
Phoenix Television
was the only Chinese station to broadcast the news, did so on its on-screen ticker from about 19h00. However, at 19h30, the State Council
denied reports that Huang Ju died. Phoenix retracted and issued an apology at around 20h00. It was reported that the south-west wing of the 301 Military Hospital
had been completely closed off; all media were reminded that official news would be disseminated by Xinhua
, and that all websites were to strictly observe editorial guidance from the official news agency.
There is some speculation as to the political motivations of the Phoenix Television disclosure: on one hand, the station is a News Corporation
affiliate with strong viewer base in Guangdong province. Phoenix, which sees itself as a pioneer of press freedom in China, continues to push against the reporting controls on media imposed by the state. On the other hand, leaders in the politically rebellious province would likely gain an advantage in the powerplay to preserve the status quo.
Analysts believe that traditional secrecy in China over the health of top officials has always existed so that any possible political instability is avoided. Rumours of Huang's death, which had circulated 3 times before the formal Xinhua announcement, had been used as excuses for venting anger at social and political problems. The timing of the death is particularly sensitive due to the forthcoming anniversary of the Tiananmen protests of 1989.
On 2 June 2007, Huang's death in Beijing was announced. Unprecedentedly, the English and Chinese versions of his obituary were relayed simultaneously to the country and the world only a few hours after his death, at around 6:30 am Beijing time. His death was the top story on the National News program at 7 pm, where news anchors in black suits read off the 155 word dry and sober obituary, and no evaluation of his legacy. The screen simply displayed "Comrade Huang Ju has passed away." Official Chinese news agency Xinhua
reported that Huang had died at 2:03 am, of an unnamed illness, at age 69.
In his concise official obituary, which was the top story on all Chinese news websites, he was hailed as a "long-tested and faithful Communist fighter and an outstanding leader of the party and the state." Many believe this to be contrary to how he is regarded within the party and by the general public, but is rather a political means to "calm the storm" before the 17th Party Congress of the Communist Party is held in November 2007.
Websites reporting Huang Ju's death have disallowed discussions on the issue, and internet forums have censored all negative comments and speculation about Huang Ju's political life. In Shanghai, where Huang is most well known as the city's former Mayor, reception of his death has been very cold. Among the mayors of Shanghai, Huang has received the lowest ratings, while his contemporaries, Zhu Rongji
and Xu Kuangdi
, were generally liked by the public. As a result Shanghai has not seen any public displays of mourning.
Huang was the first PSC member to die in office since Chairman Mao Zedong
in September 1976, some thirty years earlier, and the highest ranking communist leader to die in office since economic reforms began in 1978. He is the only First Vice-Premier ever to die in office.
's state funeral in 1997. It was the top story on CCTV's National News at 7 pm on 5 June 2007, and occupied well over ten minutes of broadcast time in the half-hour program. Despite its priority and importance, however, Huang's funeral was noticeably simpler than that of previous leaders. The official "funeral" (追悼会) designation for deceased leaders was not used; rather, it was termed a "Send-off ceremony" (告别仪式). Analysts suggest that this may become the new trend for Chinese leaders. Huang's legacy was evaluated very highly in the official state media, which called him an "important member of the Central Committee Leadership under General Secretary Hu Jintao
who dedicated his heart to the development of the Party and the State, and offered all of his intellectual strength and power for the cause." Noticeably, former President Jiang Zemin
, in official footage, was in tears as he shook the hands of Huang's widow Yu Huiwen. Interestingly, the funeral coverage began with Zeng Qinghong
standing at the hospital awaiting Huang Ju's funeral procession, and not with Hu Jintao. All Chinese leaders, including former Premier Zhu Rongji
, attended the ceremony.
ally into the positions of Politburo Standing Committee member, as well as Executive Vice-Premier. This was construed as making the transition to a consolidated Hu Jintao government more likely during the 17th Party Congress
. However, according to most observers, Huang's death would have little effect on Chinese politics, largely because Huang was absent from public life for over a year prior to his death, and the news of his death was long expected. Huang's departure was nevertheless seen as a major blow to the Shanghai Clique
, a group of senior politicians loyal to former President Jiang Zemin
, who has been involved in a constant power struggle with President Hu. Huang, along with disgraced Shanghai Party Chief Chen Liangyu
, who underwent investigation for charges of fraud and corruption, were both staunch opponents of Hu and Premier Wen Jiabao.
newspaperman in San Francisco, for which Huang was criticized by political rivals.
|-
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Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China
The Vice Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China is a high-ranking executive assistant to the Premier. There is a First-ranking Vice Premier , sometimes called Executive Vice Premier wrongly by the non-official media. It is an informal title and takes over duties of the...
. He joined the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
in March 1966. He was ranked 6th out of 9
Political position ranking of the People's Republic of China
The political ranking of the People's Republic of China is the ranking of political leaders in China, by order of presumed political power. Although there is no formally published ranking, there is usually an established convention and protocol, and the relative positions of Chinese political...
, and was one of the least popular and most partisan members of the Politburo Standing Committee
Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China
The Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Communist Party of China, whose membership varies between 5 and 9 people. The inner workings of the PSC are not well known, although it is believed that decisions of the PSC are...
of the Party
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
. Huang, considered "one of China's most mysterious politicians", was a powerful member of the Shanghai clique
Shanghai clique
The Shanghai clique or Shanghai faction is the name given to an informal group of officials in the Communist Party of China, especially those who serve in the central government of the People's Republic of China or the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, who rose to prominence in...
.
Having been both the Mayor of Shanghai and the city's party chief in the 1990s, Huang enjoyed very close relations with his patron Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin is a former Chinese politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2005...
, he was known to be strongly opposed to General Secretary and President Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao is the current Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China. He has held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang...
. During his tenure in Shanghai Huang and his family members were involved in various corruption cases. He died in office on 2 June 2007.
Early life
Born in JiashanJiashan County
Jiashan County is a county of Zhejiang Province, China, administered by the prefecture-level city Jiaxing. Jiashan is nicknamed the "The Land of Fish and Rice". It is 80 kilometers west of Shanghai, 95 kilometers east of Hangzhou, and 90 kilometers south of Suzhou...
, Zhejiang Province
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
(浙江嘉善) as Huang Deyu (黄德钰), Huang was the second of five children. He attended Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University , colloquially known in Chinese as Qinghua, is a university in Beijing, China. The school is one of the nine universities of the C9 League. It was established in 1911 under the name "Tsinghua Xuetang" or "Tsinghua College" and was renamed the "Tsinghua School" one year later...
(清华大学) in 1956–63 where he graduated in Electrical Engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
.
Career
Huang was employed as a Technician in the foundry section of the Shanghai Artificial-board Machinery Factory (上海人造板机器厂) from 1963 to 1967. From 1967 to 1977, Huang worked as Technician in the power section of the Shanghai Zhonghua Metallurgical Factory (上海中华冶金厂), where he was also Assistant Deputy Secretary Workshop Party Branch. He became Assistant Director of the Revolutionary Committee, Deputy Plant Manager, Engineer from 1977 to 1980. He was Assistant Manager of the Shanghai Petrochemical General Machinery Company (上海市石化通用机械制造公司) from 1980 to 1982. From 1982 to 1983 he was Deputy Commissioner of the Shanghai First Mechanical and Electrical Industry Bureau (上海市第一机电工业局).Time in Shanghai
From 1983 to 1984, he was Shanghai Municipal Party Committee member and City Industry Work Party Secretary; Shanghai Municipal Party Committee member, its Secretary General from 1984 to 1985 and its Assistant Deputy Secretary from 1985 to 1986.In 1987, Huang became one of the chosen candidates for the Mayor of Shanghai, and therefore a CCP Central Committee member, but he was embarrassed by the low number of votes supporting his candidacy in Shanghai's Municipal Congress. Huang therefore did not become Mayor and Zhu Rongji
Zhu Rongji
Zhū Róngjī is a prominent Chinese politician who served as the Mayor and Party chief in Shanghai between 1987 and 1991, before serving as Vice-Premier and then the fifth Premier of the People's Republic of China from March 1998 to March 2003.A tough administrator, his time in office saw the...
was subsequently elected Mayor in his place. When Zhu became Premier after his transfer to the Central Government in Beijing, Huang became mayor of Shanghai in 1991 and then city's Party chief in 1994, which he served until October 2002. Although he led the eastern commercial hub in a continuous era of prosperity and development, he is known to have achieved fairly little in Shanghai.
Huang served in a role to keep the city's party organization in line, and is remembered for by some as having raised the salary levels of Shanghai people. Among recent ex-mayors of Shanghai, Huang was also the least popular, due to his suppression of popular mayor Xu Kuangdi
Xu Kuangdi
Xu Kuangdi KmstkNO is a Chinese politician of the ruling Communist Party. He was mayor of Shanghai from 1995 to 2001. He supervised the transformation of Shanghai during his administration into a center for international investment and trade that helped lead the intensive development of China's...
. Huang's reputation in the city is incomparable to that of Zhu Rongji or even Chen Liangyu, and had a very negative image.
Due to his extremely low popularity inside the party and in the public eye, Huang's move to Beijing after Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin is a former Chinese politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2005...
's retirement in 2002 was subject to great controversy. In May 1994, after Huang's installation as the Shanghai party chief, his wife Yu Huiwen, along with Shanghai official Chen Tiedi opened a charity organization. This charity organization reputedly became the source of illegal money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
for Huang's wife and close colleagues, who received "donations" from the business elite. Although some of this money did indeed go to charity, there was a large amount of funds whose whereabouts is still unknown. It is unclear what Huang's involvement were in this process, but it is clear that his power in Shanghai gave an operating pass of sorts to his family.
Huang is also widely believed to be implicated in the Shanghai real estate scandals involving Zhou Zhengyi
Zhou Zhengyi
Zhou Zhengyi is a prominent businessman born and based in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. The flamboyant property developer is described as the 11th richest man in China, with personal assets totalling US$320 million.-Biography:...
, one of Shanghai's big-name business elites. Huang did little to stop monopolies in Shanghai's booming real estate sector, and there was some discontent and public protests resulted from in residents being evicted from their homes (with little or no compensation) to make way for new construction. Zhou was eventually charged with multiple counts of fraud, but was only sentenced to three years in prison, which analysts speculated was largely due to Huang's exerting his influence on the municipal courts. In addition, Huang's wife, Yu Huiwen, controlled the Shanghai pension fund, and was linked to Zhang Rongkun
Zhang Rongkun
Zhang Rongkun is one of the richest men in China; he was listed as China's 16th richest man on Forbes's 2005 list of the richest people in China. Zhang was a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and is currently the chairman of Fuxi Investment Holding Company and is a...
, who was at the centre of allegations of misappropriation of the fund's money. Huang's brother, who was made a high-ranking executive of a Pudong
Pudong
Pudong |Bank]]") is an area of Shanghai, China, located along the east side of the Huangpu River, across from the historic city center of Shanghai in Puxi. Formerly a little-developed agricultural area linked only by ferries, Pudong has grown rapidly since the 1990s and emerged as China's financial...
development firm, also moved funds for personal uses.
National politics
Huang was one of the patronage appointments from Jiang's Shanghai clique to China's top decision-making body, becoming one of the nine members of the Politburo Standing Committee. He received the lowest number of votes among the Politburo members elected in 2002. He received just 1,455 votes in favour, out of 2,074 votes cast, but 300 votes against. This result is unusually low in Chinese national politics, where elections are normally confirmation of selections made by consensus.His position as First Vice-Premier was considered largely a figurehead
Figurehead
A figurehead is a carved wooden decoration found at the prow of ships largely made between the 16th and 19th century.-History:Although earlier ships had often had some form of bow ornamentation A figurehead is a carved wooden decoration found at the prow of ships largely made between the 16th and...
role and had very little power, especially when compared to previous First Vice-Premiers Yao Yilin
Yao Yilin
Yao Yilin was a deputy Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1983 to 1988, and the country's First Vice Premier from 1988 to 1993. He was born in Hong Kong in 1917, and spent his early years in Guichi, Chizhou, Anhui. Yao joined the Communist Party of China in 1935...
and Li Lanqing
Li Lanqing
Li Lanqing is a prominent Chinese politician.-Biography:He is a former member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China. While in government he was First Vice-Premier. In his capacity as Vice Premier, Li was responsible for national education policy...
. His official portfolios were to oversee finance and banking.
Although the national media stressed his return, Huang was believed to be next in the firing line in the corruption probe after the dismissal of his close colleague Chen Liangyu
Chen Liangyu
Chen Liangyu was a politician of the People's Republic of China from the ruling Communist Party, and the disgraced CPC Shanghai Committee Secretary, or the city's first-in-charge....
in September 2006. Huang's involvement with the Shanghai Pension Fund Scandals is unclear, as the Chinese government has thus far kept much of the investigation under wraps.
Illness
In February 2006, the South China Morning PostSouth China Morning Post
The South China Morning Post , together with its Sunday edition, the Sunday Morning Post, is an English-language Hong Kong newspaper, published by the SCMP Group with a circulation of 104,000....
reported that Huang was seriously ill, and was expected to step down. Although some government officials said that he had pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...
, the party never officially disclosed the nature of his condition. In stating that Huang was recovering from an undisclosed illness,
On 17 March, sources reported that he was near death. Nevertheless, some sources suggested his sudden disappearance from the public might also have been the result of an internal power struggle, in which Huang was purged to make way for Hu
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao is the current Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China. He has held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang...
and Wen
Wen Jiabao
Wen Jiabao is the sixth and current Premier and Party secretary of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, serving as China's head of government and leading its cabinet. In his capacity as Premier, Wen is regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic policy...
loyalists.
Huang attended a Science and Technology forum in Beijing on 5 June 2006, which some suggest was for the sole purpose of letting the public know that he was still alive and well.
After giving a keynote speech at the State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) executives' conference on 5 January 2007, he was notably absent at the Central Conference on Financial Affairs later on that month. Although his condolences were accounted for, rank-appropriate, during Communist elder Bo Yibo
Bo Yibo
Bo Yibo was a Chinese politician and one of the Eight Immortals of the Communist Party of China....
's funeral, his absence prompted speculation that Huang's critical condition was preventing him from carrying out his official duties. Hong Kong media speculated that Huang was undergoing treatment in Shanghai. Huang reappeared, looking very frail, during the National People's Congress
2007 National People's Congress
The 5th Plenary Session of the 10th National People's Congress held its annual meeting from March 5 to March 15, 2007 at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, in conjunction with the 2007 CPPCC. Many items were listed on the agenda for the two-week-long session of the National People's...
in March 2007.
It was widely speculated that Huang had already requested to be allowed to resign by March 2007, and that afterwards his normally powerful position became purely ceremonial. He had reportedly handed over his role of oversight of Financial Affairs portfolio to premier Wen Jiabao
Wen Jiabao
Wen Jiabao is the sixth and current Premier and Party secretary of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, serving as China's head of government and leading its cabinet. In his capacity as Premier, Wen is regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic policy...
in January. It had been expected that Huang would formally retire by the 17th Party Congress in November 2007, where there would be a major reshuffle of posts of party apparatus.
Official sources reported no significant events after he attended a panel discussion with legislators from Shanghai on 7 March 2007.
Huang was reported, at the end of April 2007, to have left Shanghai, and had been admitted to the 301 Military Hospital in Beijing to receive treatment. There were further reports on 8 May that his condition had deteriorated.
False media reports
Citing sources inside the 301 Military Hospital in Beijing, The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
reported that he had died on the morning of 9 May 2007, and the next day noted the "surprise" of its source in the hospital at the State council's denial. Reports were widely circulated.
Phoenix Television
Phoenix Television
Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings Ltd or Phoenix Television is a Hong Kong-based Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese television broadcaster that serves the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong along with other markets with substantial Chinese viewers...
was the only Chinese station to broadcast the news, did so on its on-screen ticker from about 19h00. However, at 19h30, the State Council
State Council of the People's Republic of China
The State Council of the People's Republic of China , which is largely synonymous with the Central People's Government after 1954, is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the Premier and includes the heads of each governmental department and agency...
denied reports that Huang Ju died. Phoenix retracted and issued an apology at around 20h00. It was reported that the south-west wing of the 301 Military Hospital
301 Military Hospital
The 301 Military Hospital or "PLA General Hospital" , located in Beijing, China, is the largest general hospital under the auspices of the People's Liberation Army...
had been completely closed off; all media were reminded that official news would be disseminated by Xinhua
Xinhua News Agency
The Xinhua News Agency is the official press agency of the government of the People's Republic of China and the biggest center for collecting information and press conferences in the PRC. It is the largest news agency in the PRC, ahead of the China News Service...
, and that all websites were to strictly observe editorial guidance from the official news agency.
There is some speculation as to the political motivations of the Phoenix Television disclosure: on one hand, the station is a News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
affiliate with strong viewer base in Guangdong province. Phoenix, which sees itself as a pioneer of press freedom in China, continues to push against the reporting controls on media imposed by the state. On the other hand, leaders in the politically rebellious province would likely gain an advantage in the powerplay to preserve the status quo.
Analysts believe that traditional secrecy in China over the health of top officials has always existed so that any possible political instability is avoided. Rumours of Huang's death, which had circulated 3 times before the formal Xinhua announcement, had been used as excuses for venting anger at social and political problems. The timing of the death is particularly sensitive due to the forthcoming anniversary of the Tiananmen protests of 1989.
Death
On 29 May, Huang was elected as one of Shanghai's local party representatives to the Party's 17th Party Congress to be held in November 2007.On 2 June 2007, Huang's death in Beijing was announced. Unprecedentedly, the English and Chinese versions of his obituary were relayed simultaneously to the country and the world only a few hours after his death, at around 6:30 am Beijing time. His death was the top story on the National News program at 7 pm, where news anchors in black suits read off the 155 word dry and sober obituary, and no evaluation of his legacy. The screen simply displayed "Comrade Huang Ju has passed away." Official Chinese news agency Xinhua
Xinhua News Agency
The Xinhua News Agency is the official press agency of the government of the People's Republic of China and the biggest center for collecting information and press conferences in the PRC. It is the largest news agency in the PRC, ahead of the China News Service...
reported that Huang had died at 2:03 am, of an unnamed illness, at age 69.
In his concise official obituary, which was the top story on all Chinese news websites, he was hailed as a "long-tested and faithful Communist fighter and an outstanding leader of the party and the state." Many believe this to be contrary to how he is regarded within the party and by the general public, but is rather a political means to "calm the storm" before the 17th Party Congress of the Communist Party is held in November 2007.
Websites reporting Huang Ju's death have disallowed discussions on the issue, and internet forums have censored all negative comments and speculation about Huang Ju's political life. In Shanghai, where Huang is most well known as the city's former Mayor, reception of his death has been very cold. Among the mayors of Shanghai, Huang has received the lowest ratings, while his contemporaries, Zhu Rongji
Zhu Rongji
Zhū Róngjī is a prominent Chinese politician who served as the Mayor and Party chief in Shanghai between 1987 and 1991, before serving as Vice-Premier and then the fifth Premier of the People's Republic of China from March 1998 to March 2003.A tough administrator, his time in office saw the...
and Xu Kuangdi
Xu Kuangdi
Xu Kuangdi KmstkNO is a Chinese politician of the ruling Communist Party. He was mayor of Shanghai from 1995 to 2001. He supervised the transformation of Shanghai during his administration into a center for international investment and trade that helped lead the intensive development of China's...
, were generally liked by the public. As a result Shanghai has not seen any public displays of mourning.
Huang was the first PSC member to die in office since Chairman Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
in September 1976, some thirty years earlier, and the highest ranking communist leader to die in office since economic reforms began in 1978. He is the only First Vice-Premier ever to die in office.
Funeral
Huang's funeral was the highest-ranking affair for any Communist leader since Deng XiaopingDeng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping was a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy...
's state funeral in 1997. It was the top story on CCTV's National News at 7 pm on 5 June 2007, and occupied well over ten minutes of broadcast time in the half-hour program. Despite its priority and importance, however, Huang's funeral was noticeably simpler than that of previous leaders. The official "funeral" (追悼会) designation for deceased leaders was not used; rather, it was termed a "Send-off ceremony" (告别仪式). Analysts suggest that this may become the new trend for Chinese leaders. Huang's legacy was evaluated very highly in the official state media, which called him an "important member of the Central Committee Leadership under General Secretary Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao is the current Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China. He has held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang...
who dedicated his heart to the development of the Party and the State, and offered all of his intellectual strength and power for the cause." Noticeably, former President Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin is a former Chinese politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2005...
, in official footage, was in tears as he shook the hands of Huang's widow Yu Huiwen. Interestingly, the funeral coverage began with Zeng Qinghong
Zeng Qinghong
Zeng Qinghong was the Vice-President of the People's Republic of China from 2003 to 2008. He became a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee during the 2002 16th Party Congress. Although he was formally ranked fifth in the nine PSC...
standing at the hospital awaiting Huang Ju's funeral procession, and not with Hu Jintao. All Chinese leaders, including former Premier Zhu Rongji
Zhu Rongji
Zhū Róngjī is a prominent Chinese politician who served as the Mayor and Party chief in Shanghai between 1987 and 1991, before serving as Vice-Premier and then the fifth Premier of the People's Republic of China from March 1998 to March 2003.A tough administrator, his time in office saw the...
, attended the ceremony.
Political impact
Huang's death also opened a vacancy which preluded the possible installation of a Hu JintaoHu Jintao
Hu Jintao is the current Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China. He has held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang...
ally into the positions of Politburo Standing Committee member, as well as Executive Vice-Premier. This was construed as making the transition to a consolidated Hu Jintao government more likely during the 17th Party Congress
17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China
The 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing, China, at the Great Hall of the People from 15 to 21 October 2007. The Congress marked significant shift in the political direction of the country as CPC General Secretary Hu Jintao solidified his position of leadership...
. However, according to most observers, Huang's death would have little effect on Chinese politics, largely because Huang was absent from public life for over a year prior to his death, and the news of his death was long expected. Huang's departure was nevertheless seen as a major blow to the Shanghai Clique
Shanghai clique
The Shanghai clique or Shanghai faction is the name given to an informal group of officials in the Communist Party of China, especially those who serve in the central government of the People's Republic of China or the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, who rose to prominence in...
, a group of senior politicians loyal to former President Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin is a former Chinese politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2005...
, who has been involved in a constant power struggle with President Hu. Huang, along with disgraced Shanghai Party Chief Chen Liangyu
Chen Liangyu
Chen Liangyu was a politician of the People's Republic of China from the ruling Communist Party, and the disgraced CPC Shanghai Committee Secretary, or the city's first-in-charge....
, who underwent investigation for charges of fraud and corruption, were both staunch opponents of Hu and Premier Wen Jiabao.
Personal
Huang was married to Yu Huiwen (余慧文), who was an executive on a Shanghai Pensions board, and believed to be involved in corruption cases in the city. In February 1995, his daughter, Huang Fan (黄凡), married Fang Yiwei (方以伟), the son of Fang Dachuan (方大川), a pro-TaiwanTaiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
newspaperman in San Francisco, for which Huang was criticized by political rivals.
External links
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