Former President Jiang Zemin, Who Led China's Rapid Growth, Passes Away... Shanghai Clique Loses Its Leader

Swimming on Hawaii Waikiki Line... Pavarotti's Passionate Performance of 'O Sole Mio'
Bloomberg: "A Politician Remarkably Diverse Amid Opaque Party Politics"
In China, Mourning Atmosphere and Rapid Deletion of 'Supportive Comments'
Expectations of Xi's Further Consolidation of Firm Power

In 1998, former Chinese President Jiang Zemin (center) is enjoying a dinner banquet with U.S. President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton, who were on a state visit, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China.

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Kim Hyun-jung] "A distinguished and outstanding leader, a great Marxist and proletarian revolutionary, a long-time communist fighter." (People's Daily)

"A notably colorful politician in China's monotonous and opaque party politics. At the age of 71, he swam at Waikiki Beach in Hawaii, played guitar at banquets, and in 2001 in Beijing, he passionately sang 'O Sole Mio' with Luciano Pavarotti." (Bloomberg News)

Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, the 'third-generation top leader' who led China's reform and opening-up, passed away at the age of 96. Following the death of Jiang, who laid the foundation for the world's second-largest economy, various media outlets and portal sites simultaneously switched to black and white, reflecting a deep atmosphere of mourning within China. Analysts suggest that with his passing, the 'Shanghai Faction (上海幇)', one of China's three major political cliques, will lose its central figure, potentially further consolidating President Xi Jinping's power.

According to local media including the state-run Xinhua News Agency on the 1st, former President Jiang died at 12:13 PM local time the previous day in Shanghai, where he was receiving treatment for leukemia and multiple organ failure.

From Keeping a Low Profile to Taking Initiative... Founder of the 'Three Represents' Theory Embracing the Wealthy

Born in 1926 in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, he majored in electrical engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 1947 and later studied in Moscow, Soviet Union. After serving as deputy director of the Shanghai Institute of Electrical Science in 1962, he was appointed deputy minister of the Ministry of Electronics Industry in 1983, successfully launching the Changcheng-3 satellite, China's first geostationary communications satellite, establishing his reputation as a technocrat. Elected mayor of Shanghai in 1985, he gained prominence and during the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident, he directly suppressed protests, earning the trust of then top leader Deng Xiaoping. He succeeded Zhao Ziyang, who was ousted as General Secretary of the Communist Party, and rose to become chairman of the National Committee, chairman of the Central Military Commission, and in 1993, reached the pinnacle of power as President. Jiang was the first person to hold the positions of President, General Secretary of the Communist Party, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission simultaneously.

Jiang's greatest achievement was economic growth through reform and opening-up. He abandoned Deng Xiaoping's policy of 'keeping a low profile and biding time (韜光養晦, Tao Guang Yang Hui)' and introduced a new line of 'taking initiative (有所作爲, You Suo Zuo Wei)' that recognized China's status as a major power. Notably, he embraced not only workers and peasants but also intellectuals and capitalists as party members through the 'Three Represents' theory, thereby incorporating capital and the private sector. During his tenure as General Secretary (1989?2002), China's GDP soared from 1.72 trillion yuan (approximately 319 trillion KRW) to 12.17 trillion yuan, an increase of more than seven times.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

First Chinese Top Leader to Visit South Korea... Progress in US-China Relations

Among other major achievements during his term were the 1997 Hong Kong handover, China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, and securing the 2008 Beijing Olympics (awarded in 2001). US-China relations also improved significantly, with frequent exchanges between the two countries' leaders. During his 1997 state visit to the United States, he attracted global attention by singing in public. He was a key figure in establishing diplomatic relations between South Korea and China in 1992 and became the first Chinese top leader to make a state visit to South Korea in 1995, holding summit talks with President Kim Young-sam. He showed particular interest in South Korea's industrial status by visiting Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor factories.

In 2002, he handed over the position of Party General Secretary to Hu Jintao, a member of the Communist Youth League faction, another major power clique alongside the Shanghai Faction, and in the following year, he also relinquished the presidency. He stepped down as chairman of the Central Military Commission in 2005 but continued to wield significant influence behind the scenes as a political elder. However, to counterbalance the Communist Youth League, he promoted Xi Jinping, a member of the Princelings (a political faction composed of descendants of senior officials), as his successor. After Xi's rise to power, Jiang became a political elder with diminished presence. His last public appearance was at the October 1, 2019, 70th anniversary celebration of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and he did not attend the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party held in October, fueling speculation about his declining health.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) and former President Jiang Zemin raised their right hands in approval of the agenda at the closing ceremony of the 19th Party Congress on the 24th (local time).
[Photo by AP]

Shanghai Faction Loses Its Leader... Xi's Power Expected to Strengthen

However, Jiang's political ambitions and hardline domestic policies have left room for criticism. Bloomberg noted, "He was not a democrat," citing his detention of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners, a traditional Chinese spiritual group, the polarization between economic cities like Shanghai and other regions during reform and opening-up, and his tacit tolerance of intellectual property rights violations.

With his death, the Shanghai Faction loses its leader, and it is expected that President Xi's solidified power will be further reinforced. According to The New York Times (NYT), social media platforms such as China's Weibo have rapidly deleted comments defending Jiang following the news of his death, including remarks like "Thank you for introducing China to openness and foreign culture" and "We who criticized you were wrong. You were not the floor but the ceiling." This is interpreted as a preemptive measure to prevent the spread of anti-government sentiment amid recent anti-lockdown protests. Beijing historian Zhang Lipan told the NYT, "Xi Jinping may use the mourning atmosphere to recover from his isolated situation," while William Lam, senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation, explained, "A repeat of the 1989 situation seems impossible under Xi Jinping's strong security measures."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.