Recently, Hu Dehua, the son of former Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Hu Yaobang, passed away. He was considered a rare liberal figure among the Chinese Communist Party’s “princelings” (also known as the “second-generation reds”) who dared to speak the truth. His death has once again touched the sensitive nerves of the CCP, leading to a new round of scrutiny and censorship of articles mourning Hu Dehua and commemorating Hu Yaobang.
On March 30, 77-year-old Hu Dehua passed away in Beijing. He was the third son of Hu Yaobang and a prominent member of the “princeling” faction within the CCP.
Hu Dehua had close ties with internal democratic factions in the CCP such as Li Rui and Du Daozheng, and he often criticized the Chinese Communist system.
In 2016, he took on the role of deputy editor-in-chief of the famous magazine “Yanhuang Chunqiu,” which was known for reflecting on the history of the CCP and advocating for reform and opening up. However, in less than three months, the magazine was thoroughly rectified by the CCP authorities, and he, along with other senior editors, were removed. On July 26 of that year, Hu Dehua publicly criticized the authorities for sending people to occupy the editorial department of the magazine, and the video of the scene is still circulating on the internet to this day.
On April 2, Deutsche Welle cited online reports stating that a large number of posts and articles mourning Hu Dehua and commemorating Hu Yaobang were deleted.
Hu Dehua had long advocated for political reform and press freedom within the CCP, which is extremely rare among the “princelings.”
His father, Hu Yaobang, was forced to step down in January 1987 by senior CCP leaders including Deng Xiaoping and Bo Yibo under the pretext of “bourgeois liberalization.” He passed away from a sudden heart attack on April 15, 1989. His death sparked mourning among students at major universities in Beijing, which then escalated into political demands for freedom, democracy, anti-bureaucracy, and anti-corruption, ultimately culminating in the shocking Tiananmen Square Massacre.
Since then, Hu Yaobang’s name has become a sensitive term within the CCP. Anniversaries related to him and the victims of the Tiananmen Square Massacre are closely monitored and censored on the mainland Chinese internet.
Hu Dehua was seen as someone who carried on his father’s ideology and integrity, openly discussing the suppression of Tiananmen Square and Hu Yaobang’s desire for reform over the years. In 2013, to honor his father, Hu Dehua compiled memories from over 20 authors and edited the book “In My Heart, Yaobang” published in mainland China.
Hu Dehua had been interviewed multiple times by foreign media outlets, stating that the CCP had missed the historical window of reform and warning about the increasingly rigid political system, with the party’s interests prevailing over those of the people under Xi Jinping’s increasingly centralized rule.
During an interview with Deutsche Welle on April 15, 2014, Hu Dehua said, “To carry out reforms, it is necessary to limit public power, making many backdoor deals difficult to conduct. For example, the Party Central Committee also mentioned the ‘public disclosure of officials’ assets,’ which is a common practice worldwide. However, the public disclosure of assets has been met with resistance from almost all officials, indicating resistance to political reform.”
After news of Hu Dehua’s passing became public, Hong Kong’s “Ming Pao” reported on April 1 that since the 18th National Congress of the CCP at the end of 2012, Hu Dehua had repeatedly spoken out on current affairs, becoming a well-known outspoken figure among the “princelings.” In April 2013, during a gathering at the “Yanhuang Chunqiu” magazine, he sternly criticized the top CCP leaders. At that time, he questioned whether the CCP would continue its reform and opening-up policies, and mocked the leaders for their lack of reading.
Informants from Beijing have indicated that Hu Dehua’s statements angered the authorities, who then sent people to convey the message that “criticizing the central government is not permitted.”
In 2016, Hu Dehua’s name appeared in the “Panama Papers,” which exposed offshore assets of officials from various countries, indicating that he owned offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands. He later admitted to this.
The “Panama Papers” revealed that relatives or associates of nine current and former high-level CCP leaders owned offshore companies, including Xi Jinping’s brother-in-law, Deng Jiagui. The CCP authorities suppressed related information. Hu Dehua was the only one among the nine individuals to publicly admit the accuracy of the information. He stated that he had “legitimately registered” with a Chinese passport but had “no assets, no operations.”