The family of deposed Chinese leader Zhao Ziyang (
Zhao was purged and kept under house arrest for 15-and-a-half years until his death for opposing the bloody military crackdown on the 1989 Tiananmen Square protesters. But even in death, he was unfree.
PHOTO: AFP
Hundreds of uniformed and plainclothes police guarded the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery Saturday, and kept out hundreds of people who turned up to pay their last respects to the man who had been China's premier and Communist Party chief.
Zhao's closest relatives said they had little say in the funeral that the Chinese authorities insisted on organizing and were upset by the government's interference in matters that should normally have been left up to the family.
There was a news blackout ahead of the funeral. The government censored the funeral guest list and blocked people -- including many who were invited by the family -- from attending the funeral.
Bao Tong, Zhao's closest aide, and other dissidents were banned from leaving home to attend the funeral as the government sought to keep the ceremony low-key to prevent it becoming a rallying point for those dissatisfied with the Communist Party.
Elderly protestors and ordinary citizens turned up outside the cemetery, but were turned away. Wearing white headbands, petitioners held pictures of Zhao and cried bitterly for the leader they called "a good man." Family members were not allowed to decorate the funeral hall and were forbidden from putting up traditional calligraphy scrolls of eulogies for the deceased.
"Advocating democracy and conscience, your family is proud of you. You are gone, you are free at last, but your spirit will live on forever," one couplet had said.
A family member said Zhao never regretted his decision to oppose the bloody crackdown on the Tiananmen pro-democracy movement. He was purged for "supporting the turmoil and splitting the party" by taking a sympathetic stance towards the students. His last public appearance was on May 19, 1989, when he tearfully begged students to end their hunger strike.
"He never regretted his choice. He left in peace and he had no regrets," she said. "We were often angry about lots of things on his behalf, but he was always very calm."
A humanoid robot that won a half-marathon race for robots in Beijing on Sunday ran faster than the human world record in a show of China’s technological leaps. The winner from Honor, a Chinese smartphone maker, completed the 21km race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, said a WeChat post by the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town, where the race began. That was faster than the human world record holder, Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, who finished the same distance in about 57 minutes in March at the Lisbon road race. The performance by the robot marked a significant step forward
Four contenders are squaring up to succeed Antonio Guterres as secretary-general of the UN, which faces unprecedented global instability, wars and its own crushing budget crisis. Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal’s Macky Sall are each to face grillings by 193 member states and non-governmental organizations for three hours today and tomorrow. It is only the second time the UN has held a public question-and-answer, a format created in 2016 to boost transparency. Ultimately the five permanent members of the UN’s top body, the Security Council, hold the power, wielding vetoes over who leads the
South Korea’s air force yesterday apologized for a 2021 midair collision involving two fighter jets, a day after auditors said the pilots were taking selfies and filming during the flight and held them responsible for the accident. “We sincerely apologize to the public for the concern caused by the accident that occurred in 2021,” an air force spokesman told a news conference, adding that one of the pilots involved had been suspended from flying duties, received severe disciplinary action and has since left the military. The apology followed a report released on Wednesday by the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection,
An earthquake registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.7 off northern Japan on Monday prompted a short-lived tsunami alert and the advisory of a higher risk of a possible mega-quake for coastal areas there. The Cabinet Office and the Japan Meteorological Agency said there was a 1% chance for a mega-quake, compared to a 0.1% chance during normal times, in the next week or so following the powerful quake near the Chishima and Japan trenches. Officials said the advisory was not a quake prediction but urged residents in 182 towns along the northeastern coasts to raise their preparedness while continuing their daily lives. Prime
RSS