biography
pronunciation:
[hoo yowbang]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1915–89)
|
| biography:
| Chinese politician, born in Hunan province, SEC China. He took part in the Long March (1934–6), and held a number of posts under Deng Xiaoping before becoming head of the Communist Youth League (1952–67). He was purged during the Cultural Revolution (1966–9), then briefly rehabilitated (1975–6), but did not return to high office until 1978, when, through his patron Deng, he joined the Communist Party's Politburo. From head of the secretariat he was promoted to Party leader in 1981, but dismissed in 1987 for his relaxed handling of a wave of student unrest. Popularly revered as a liberal reformer, his death triggered an unprecedented wave of pro-democracy demonstrations. |
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