For China, former president Jiang’s death comes amid growing frustration
Crowds have gathered in urban centers and on college campuses to call not just changes to the country’s covid policies but also for less censorship and more individual freedoms.
Historically, the deaths of former leaders have been times of turbulence for the party and moments when internal division and power struggles can break out into broader social unrest. The death of reform-minded former leader Hu Yaobang in April 1989 was the trigger for demonstrations in support of freedom of speech and democratic reforms that became known as the Tiananmen Square protests.
China today is vastly different from the country Jiang took charge of in 1989, however, and there are few signs of a schism among the top party leaders.
“Xi Jinping has already held power for a decade and changeover at the top is complete, so there’s little chance of internal elites using the opportunity” to challenge him, said Chien-wen Kou, a political scientist at National Chengchi University in Taiwan.
Party elders picked Jiang to replace general secretary Zhao Ziyang during the party’s greatest crisis in the post-Mao era. He oversaw a propaganda and political thought campaign to reinstate control in the wake of Tiananmen Square; he later combined that with economic liberalization as China prepared to join the World Trade Organization in 2001.
Jiang formally handed over party leadership to Hu Jintao in 2002 but remained head of the military until 2005.
This is a developing story.