Former President of China Jiang Zemin has died at the age of 96, according to Chinese state television.
Jiang died in Shanghai, state television reported on its website. A letter from the ruling Communist Party, parliament, cabinet and military was released announcing the death.
“The death of Comrade Jiang Zemin is an incalculable loss to our Party and our military, and to our people of all ethnic groups,” the letter said.
Jiang led China after the country was shocked by China’s defeat Movement for Democracy in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
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FILE – Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin watches the opening of the 18th Communist Party Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Nov. 8, 2012. Jiang died on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022, at the age of 96.
(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, file)
He saw China through historic changes, including the revival of market reforms, a comeback Hong Kong from British rule in 1997 and Beijing’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001.
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Although China opened up to the outside, Jiang’s government suppressed dissent at home. He imprisoned human rights, labor and democracy activists and banned the spiritual movement Falun Gong, which he saw as a threat to the Communist Party’s monopoly on power.
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Jiang is survived by two sons and a wife, Wang Yiping, who worked in government bureaucracies in charge of state-owned industries.
The Associate Press contributed to this report.
