Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin was born on the 17th of August 1926 in the city of Yangzhou, Jiangsu. His family home lay in the village of Jiangcun within Jingde County, Anhui province. He grew up during years when Japanese forces occupied his homeland. An uncle and foster father named Jiang Shangqing died fighting against those invaders. This man became a national hero in Jiang's own time. After Shangqing passed away, Zemin inherited his role as male heir.
He attended the Department of Electrical Engineering at the National Central University while Nanjing remained under Japanese occupation. Later he transferred to the National Chiao Tung University. He graduated there in 1947 with a bachelor degree in electrical engineering. During college he joined the Chinese Communist Party. After the People's Republic of China formed in 1949, he received training at the Stalin Automobile Works in Moscow during the 1950s. He also worked for Changchun's First Automobile Works.
His main work shifted from technical engineering to administrative tasks as he became more involved in the party. In 1962 he returned to Shanghai to become deputy director of the Shanghai Electric Research Institute. When the Cultural Revolution began that same year, he did not suffer greatly but was removed from his position. He was sent to a May Seventh Cadre School. In 1970 he left the school to become deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Bureau. He then served as head of an expert team sent to Romania to establish fifteen machinery manufacturing plants.
In April 1989 former general secretary Hu Yaobang died after being forced to resign in January 1987. His death catalyzed the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. This event led to an ideological crisis between liberals who supported aggressive reforms and conservatives who favored slower change. The Shanghai-based World Economic Herald tried to publish a eulogy rehabilitating Hu. Jiang took control of the newspaper's editorial board.
As protests grew, the Party imposed martial law and deployed troops in Beijing during May. One hundred thousand protestors marched in Shanghai streets while four hundred fifty students went on hunger strike. After three days Jiang personally met with them to assure them the Party shared their goals. He simultaneously sent a telegram to the Central Committee firmly supporting the martial law declaration. On the 20th of May 1989 paramount leader Deng Xiaoping decided to appoint Jiang as new general secretary. He replaced Zhao Ziyang who had supported the protestors.
Jiang was selected as a compromise candidate over Tianjin's Li Ruihuan and premier Li Peng. Before that he had been considered an unlikely candidate. He was appointed general secretary at the fourth plenum of the Thirteenth Central Committee on the 24th of June 1989. He held fairly small power base inside the party with very little actual power. His most reliable allies were powerful party elders Chen Yun and Li Xiannian. He was believed to be simply a transitional figure until a more stable successor government could form.
In the early 1990s post-Tiananmen economic reforms by Vice Premier Zhu Rongji stabilized the country under Jiang's support. China faced myriad economic and social problems during this period. At Deng's state funeral in 1997, Jiang delivered the elder statesman's eulogy. The nation inherited rampant political corruption and regional economies growing too rapidly for national stability. Deng's policy allowing some areas to get rich before others opened a wealth gap between coastal regions and interior provinces.
Jiang and Zhu initiated major reforms to state-owned enterprises during their tenure. A concept called grasping the large while letting go of the small deregulated many heavy industries. Many small- and medium-sized SOEs closed down or privatized. This process removed as many as forty million jobs from SOEs in what became known as Xiagang. Unemployment rates skyrocketed rising as high as forty percent in some urban areas. Stock markets fluctuated greatly while rural migration into urban areas reached unprecedented scale.
Construction of various infrastructure projects began under Jiang's leadership including the Qinghai, Tibet railway and the Three Gorges Dam. He launched the Going Global policy in 1999 to develop national champion firms. This strategy sought to increase foreign demand for Chinese goods and secure energy resources. The policy expanded Chinese investment and influence across the global South particularly in Africa and Asia.
Under Jiang's leadership China continued its style of developmental diplomacy adopted under Deng Xiaoping. International behavior remained generally pragmatic and predictable despite serious flare-ups with the United States. Foreign policy inherited from Deng emphasized hiding strength and biding time through cooperative rhetoric. In 1991 Jiang signed an agreement on the Eastern Section of the Sino-Soviet Border with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. He also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Russian president Boris Yeltsin regarding mutual reduction of armed forces.
During the 1990s cooperation between China and Russia facilitated two countries' mutual desires to balance US influence. Yeltsin visited Beijing in November 1997 while Jiang visited Moscow in 1998. Relations strengthened further by joint opposition to NATO intervention in Yugoslavia. In December 1999 Yeltsin signed a Protocol on Demarcation of the Sino-Russian Border with Jiang. In 2001 both countries established the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation together with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
A month later close relations formalized with a Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation spanning twenty years. Jiang signed an agreement with Tajikistan in 2002 ceding about twenty-seven thousand square kilometers of disputed land in the Pamir region. This allowed Tajikistan to obtain ninety-six point five percent of disputed territory. After signing the treaty China actually increased its controlled land by at least one thousand square kilometers.
On the 25th of February 2000 Jiang introduced the theory of Three Represents. It was later enshrined in both Party and State constitutions as an important thought following Marxism, Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought. Officially termed latest development of socialism with Chinese characters under Jiang's tenure, the theory justified incorporation of new capitalist business class into the party. It changed founding ideology from protecting peasants and workers to that of overwhelming majority of people.
Conservative critics within party such as hardline leftist Deng Liqun denounced this as betrayal of true communist ideology. Before transferring power to younger generation leaders, Jiang had his theory written into Party constitution alongside Marxism, Leninism and Deng Xiaoping Theory. The 16th CCP Congress held in 2002 finalized this constitutional adoption. The policy legitimized entry of private business owners and bourgeois elements into the Communist Party.
This ideological shift aimed to placate growing entrepreneurial class while maintaining party control. Conservative critics argued it represented a fundamental break from traditional communist principles. The theory became central to justifying continued rule of governing party during rapid economic transformation. It marked a significant departure from earlier doctrines emphasizing strict worker-peasant alliances.
After taking over as Chairman of Central Military Commission, Jiang faced several crises. Military leaders Yang Shangkun and Yang Baibing initially marginalized him but gradually lost military power after he won support of Deng Xiaoping. The Third Taiwan Strait Crisis prompted reflection on mistakes of People's Liberation Army leading to beginning building up military power. He purchased Russian naval and air force weapons while forbidding military engagement in business activities.
During tenure Jiang ordered strict investigation into espionage leaks affecting PLA. Several major cases emerged including Liu Guangzhi and Liu Liankun cases which were most notable. The Liu Guangzhi case called largest espionage case since founding of People's Republic of China. Leaked secrets would affect cross-strait air control competition over Taiwan Strait with adverse consequences for combat effectiveness. The Liu Liankun case directly involved leak of information about PLA exercises during 1996 presidential election and Taiwan Strait missile crisis.
In June 1999 Jiang established an extralegal department named the 610 Office to crack down on Falun Gong. This occurred because Jiang worried that popular new religious movement was quietly infiltrating CCP and state apparatus. On the 20th of July security forces arrested thousands of Falun Gong organizers they identified as leaders. Persecution followed characterized as nationwide campaign of propaganda alongside large-scale arbitrary imprisonment and coercive reeducation.
In run-up to 16th National Congress of CCP, Hu Jintao had almost unanimous support to become new general secretary. To maintain China's image as stable country, Jiang and Hu emphasized unity striving to make transition first smooth and harmonious one in PRC history. Jiang stepped down as general secretary and left Politburo Standing Committee but retained chairmanship of Central Military Commission which controlled army and foreign policy.
Jiang continued counselling Hu from behind curtain while formally agreed he would be consulted on all matters of state importance. Both men reached tacit understanding that Hu would not be considered core leader like Jiang, Deng and Mao. Early in 2003 SARS crisis, Jiang remained conspicuously silent while observers divided over whether it signified waning influence or respect for Hu. It has been argued institutional arrangements created by 16th Congress left Jiang unable to exercise much influence.
On the 19th of September 2004 after 4th Plenary Session of 16th Central Committee, Jiang at age seventy-eight relinquished post as chairman of party's Central Military Commission his last post in party. Six months later in March 2005 Jiang resigned last significant post as chairman of Central Military Commission of state marking end of political career. This followed weeks speculation that forces inside party were pressing Jiang to step aside.
Jiang died on the 30th of November 2022 at age ninety-six in Shanghai. According to Chinese state media Xinhua News Agency, he died at twelve-thirteen pm from leukemia and multiple organ failures. On day of death government released notice that national flags would fly half-staff in key locations of Beijing and diplomatic missions abroad. Foreigners were not invited to attend official mourning activities. His body was cremated at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery with ashes scattered near mouth of Yangtze River.
Domestically Jiang's legacy and reputation remains mixed while some attribute period of relative stability and growth in 1990s to his term. Others argue he did little to correct systemic imbalance and accumulation of problems resulting from years of breakneck-pace economic reforms. This left next administration facing innumerable challenges some possibly too late to solve. Historian and former Xinhua journalist Yang Jisheng wrote Jiang might have received positive assessment had it not been for decision to overstay welcome by remaining in Central Military Commission post after Hu assumed leadership.
Some associate Jiang with widespread corruption and cronyism becoming notable feature of Communist power apparatus since his years in power. In military two vice-chairmen sitting atop hierarchy Vice Chairmen Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong said to have obstructed Hu's exercise of power. Both men characterized as Jiang's proxies in military before falling under anti-corruption campaign under Xi Jinping.
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Common questions
When and where was Jiang Zemin born?
Jiang Zemin was born on the 17th of August 1926 in the city of Yangzhou, Jiangsu. His family home lay in the village of Jiangcun within Jingde County, Anhui province.
What role did Jiang Zemin play during the Tiananmen Square protests in May 1989?
Jiang Zemin personally met with protestors to assure them the Party shared their goals while simultaneously sending a telegram to the Central Committee firmly supporting the martial law declaration. On the 20th of May 1989 paramount leader Deng Xiaoping decided to appoint Jiang as new general secretary after he replaced Zhao Ziyang who had supported the protestors.
How did Jiang Zemin change the ideology of the Communist Party through the Three Represents theory?
On the 25th of February 2000 Jiang introduced the theory of Three Represents which justified incorporation of new capitalist business class into the party. The policy legitimized entry of private business owners and bourgeois elements into the Communist Party and changed founding ideology from protecting peasants and workers to that of overwhelming majority of people.
Why did Jiang Zemin establish the 610 Office in June 1999?
In June 1999 Jiang established an extralegal department named the 610 Office to crack down on Falun Gong because he worried that popular new religious movement was quietly infiltrating CCP and state apparatus. Security forces arrested thousands of Falun Gong organizers they identified as leaders on the 20th of July and persecution followed characterized as nationwide campaign of propaganda alongside large-scale arbitrary imprisonment and coercive reeducation.
When did Jiang Zemin end his political career and how did he die?
Jiang died on the 30th of November 2022 at age ninety-six in Shanghai from leukemia and multiple organ failures. He relinquished post as chairman of party's Central Military Commission on the 19th of September 2004 and resigned last significant post as chairman of Central Military Commission of state marking end of political career in March 2005.