In a recent gathering organized by the authorities of the Chinese Communist Party to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the birth of former General Secretary Hu Yaobang, the level of commemoration was significantly higher than usual. Experts suggest that Xi Jinping’s move aims to alleviate the dissatisfaction of the “second-generation reds” and liberal intellectuals towards him, paving the way for his re-election. Meanwhile, the somber expressions of Hu Yaobang’s son Hu Deping and Liu Shaoqi’s son Liu Yuan, both second-generation reds, at the gathering reflect the delicate relationship between the top leadership and this group.
On the morning of November 20th, the CCP Central Committee held a symposium at the Great Hall of the People to commemorate the 110th anniversary of Hu Yaobang’s birth. Xi Jinping attended and delivered a speech, praising Hu Yaobang for his promotion of reform and opening up. However, in previous anniversary events, Xi Jinping’s administration had maintained a low-profile approach.
Xi Jinping’s speech notably avoided discussing certain sensitive events in Hu Yaobang’s political career, such as his stance on ideological openness during the 1983 “anti-spiritual pollution campaign,” his advocacy for the separation of party and government powers, and the abolition of the lifelong tenure system for leading cadres, as well as the connection between Hu Yaobang’s death and the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident.
Regarding the high-profile nature of this commemorative event, overseas current affairs commentator Tang Jingyuan pointed out that according to CCP regulations on commemorating deceased leaders, the ten-year mark typically warrants a standard commemoration, while this time’s level of observance was equivalent to a fifty-year anniversary.
During the 90th anniversary of Hu Yaobang’s birth in 2005, only three members of the Politburo Standing Committee attended, with a speech delivered by one of them. In contrast, for the 110th anniversary commemoration, Xi Jinping personally attended and spoke, with all seven members of the Central Secretariat in attendance.
Tang Jingyuan analyzed that Hu Yaobang’s legacy is particularly sensitive due to his forced resignation over alleged “serious errors in line” and the direct link between his death and the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident. Against the backdrop of worsening relations between Xi Jinping and reformists, as well as the Hu and Xi families moving towards opposition, the decision to hold an oversized commemoration becomes noteworthy.
Regarding Xi Jinping’s motive for prominently commemorating Hu Yaobang, legal scholar Yuan Hongbing in Australia believes it is a response to current political pressures. He suggests that the main challenges to Xi Jinping currently consist of forces associated with Deng Xiaoping’s and Jiang Zemin’s families advocating for a return to aristocratic capitalism, and the inheritors of Hu Yaobang’s political legacy along with the group of liberal intellectuals.
Yuan Hongbing stated, “Xi Jinping is using the occasion of the 110th anniversary of Mr. Hu Yaobang’s birth to prominently commemorate him in order to ease the dissatisfaction and strong resistance from the second-generation reds and liberal intellectuals, thereby creating conditions for his re-election at the 21st Party Congress.”
Official media Xinhua reported that Hu Yaobang’s relatives, friends from his lifetime, and representatives from his hometown participated in the symposium. However, in the past, family members have been under surveillance.
CCTV footage showed Hu Yaobang’s son Hu Deping sitting in the third row of the podium with a furrowed brow, and Liu Shaoqi’s son Liu Yuan attended in military clothing with a serious expression. Xi Jinping’s brother Xi Yuanping and other second-generation reds were also present at the venue, prompting external scrutiny of the relationship between the top CCP leadership and the second-generation reds group.
Yuan Hongbing analyzed the contradictions between the second-generation reds and Xi Jinping from two perspectives: on the political line level, there are diverging opinions within the second-generation reds, one advocating a return to market economy under the premise of maintaining one-party rule, the other promoting gradual political reform.
On the power allocation level, Yuan Hongbing pointed out, “Xi Jinping aims to emulate Mao Zedong’s absolute power, not allowing other princeling families to share power. Consequently, a significant portion of the second-generation reds have formed major contradictions with Xi Jinping.”
In March of this year, Hu Yaobang’s third son, former Vice President of Yanhuang Chunqiu magazine Hu Dehua, passed away. Reports from Hong Kong’s Ming Pao and Radio Free Asia suggest that Hu Dehua publicly criticized Xi Jinping at a gathering in 2013, questioning the direction of reform and opening up. After Xi Jinping took office, the second-generation reds gradually became marginalized, with some openly criticizing the authorities’ policies.
Hu Yaobang’s political career is closely linked to the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident.
In December 1986, students at the China University of Science and Technology in Heifei, Anhui, initiated demonstrations opposing corruption and calling for democratic reform. Within a month, the movement spread to 28 universities across 18 provinces and cities, including Beijing and Shanghai.
Deng Xiaoping attributed this movement to Hu Yaobang. According to an article by Liu Chongwen, Hu Yaobang’s political secretary, published in Yanhuang Chunqiu, on January 10, 1987, Bo Yibo, then vice chairman of the Central Advisory Commission, led a “struggle session” criticizing Hu Yaobang. Bo Yibo berated Hu Yaobang for three to four hours and summarized his “six major crimes.” Hu Yaobang was criticized continuously for seven and a half days.
According to a recount by Lin Mu, Hu Yaobang’s assistant, in “Xi Zhongxun Reveals Political Secrets Before and After Hu Yaobang’s Removal from Office,” during this “struggle session,” only Xi Zhongxun, then a secretary of the Central Secretariat, supported Hu Yaobang, condemning the elders’ use of Cultural Revolution methods to force the General Secretary to step down as “abnormal and against party principles.”
On January 16, 1987, the CCP Central Political Bureau convened an expanded meeting, leading to Hu Yaobang’s forced resignation as General Secretary, with Zhao Ziyang appointed as acting head.
On April 15, 1989, Hu Yaobang passed away suddenly from a heart attack, sparking widespread mourning activities at universities such as Peking and Tsinghua. The mourning events swiftly evolved into a nationwide democratic movement, ultimately culminating in the June 4th incident. Zhao Ziyang was dismissed in June of the same year for sympathizing with students and opposing the authorities’ use of force, subsequently placed under house arrest for 15 years and passing away in 2005.
Yuan Hongbing pointed out the fundamental difference between official and grassroots commemorations. Official commemorations led by Xi Jinping serve his governance objectives, aiming to alleviate current political pressures. In contrast, grassroots commemorations of Hu Yaobang stem from the recognition of him as a “rare conscience within the system” and a nostalgic remembrance of his era of ideological liberalization.
“Grassroots commemorations of Hu Yaobang aim to pursue freedom and democracy, while the official commemorations led by Xi Jinping are actually part of his political scheme.” Yuan Hongbing remarked.
He believes Xi Jinping is unlikely to change his extremely authoritarian personal system or alter the current fundamental policies. Any claims of Xi Jinping changing course in political strategy are baseless.