Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin passed away

Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, who led his country through a period of profound changes from 1989 to the beginning of the third millennium, died on Wednesday at the age of 96, according to the official New China News Agency.

Jiang Zemin took power after the suppression of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. He led the transformation of China, the country with the largest population in the world, into a global power.

Jiang's death came as the Chinese communist authorities have been facing for days the largest protest movement since the Tiananmen incidents, against the health restrictions imposed to combat the Covid epidemic and to demand more political freedoms.

"Jiang Zemin died of leukemia and failure of many organs, in Shanghai at 12:13 (Wednesday) November 30, 2022, at the age of 96," the agency said.

Flags were flown at party and government buildings, according to state television (CCTV).

And the New China Agency (Xinhua) stated that the announcement of Jiang's death came in a letter from the Chinese authorities, in which they expressed "deep sadness", and directed it to the entire Chinese Communist Party, the army and the people.

She said that his death came after the failure of all medical treatments.

"Comrade Jiang Zemin was an extraordinary, great Marxist leader, a great proletarian revolutionary and statesman, a long-time military strategist, diplomat and communist fighter, and an extraordinary leader of the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics," she added.

In Moscow, the Kremlin, which relies more than ever on Beijing's tacit but cautious support in its war against Ukraine and in its confrontation with the West, hailed Russia's "loyal friend" as an "extraordinary statesman" who has elevated relations between the two countries "to the level of a partnership of trust and strategic interaction." .

Jiang Zemin is married to Wang Yiping, and they have two sons.

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news