Independent Historian Jang Lipan, Critic of Chinese Regime, Passes Away

Active as an Independent Historian and Political Commentator
Passed Away Three Months Ago, News Revealed Belatedly

It was belatedly revealed that Jang Lipan, an independent Chinese historian and political commentator, passed away three months ago.

Jang Lipan, an independent Chinese historian and political commentator, has passed away. Screenshot from Jang Lipan's social media.

On June 8, Hong Kong's Ming Pao reported that Jang Lipan died on March 22, but the obituary had to be kept secret due to pressure from the authorities, and his ashes were only recently interred at Zhugongshan Cemetery in Huiluo, Beijing.

He was born in June 1950 in Beijing. His father, Zhang Naiqi, was one of China's "Seven Gentlemen for National Salvation." After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, his father served as a State Councilor (now State Council) and as the head of the Finance and Economics Group of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. However, in 1957, Mao Zedong labeled him as the "ancestor of rightists," leading to his downfall. Jang Lipan also suffered persecution, being imprisoned during the Cultural Revolution due to guilt by association.

Jang Lipan was politically rehabilitated during the reform and opening-up period of the 1980s and dedicated himself to historical research at the Institute of Modern History at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He studied the history of the Beiyang warlords, the history of Chinese social organizations and political parties, and issues related to China's modernization. After the Tiananmen Incident, he worked as an independent historian.

He maintained a critical stance toward the Chinese Communist Party and its leadership. Regarding the 1989 Tiananmen Incident, he stated, "The truth does not disappear. The goal of the Chinese Communist Party is to make people forget, but our responsibility is to remember," urging for the truth to be revealed. He sharply criticized the Xi Jinping administration, pointing out the intensification of power concentration and surveillance.

Jang Lipan expressed his political views through social media. His last post was published in September of last year.

Gao Yu, an independent journalist in China, reported that Jang Lipan had been active on social media for years using only his right hand due to a stroke. She also added that she recently tried to call Jang Lipan through an acquaintance, but received no response, which made her sense the seriousness of his illness.

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