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Hu Qili (; born 6 October 1929) is a former high-ranking politician of the
Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
(CCP), known as a champion of the country's economic reform program in the 1980s. He was a leading member of the CCP Secretariat from 1985 to 1989 and a member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee from 1987 to 1989. Following the
1989 Tiananmen Square protests The Tiananmen Square protests, known within China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led Demonstration (people), demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsucces ...
, he was purged for his sympathy toward the student protesters and his support for
General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...
Zhao Ziyang's opposition to the use of armed force. However, he returned to politics in 1991. In 2001, he became chairman of the Soong Ching-ling Foundation. As of April 2024, Hu Qili is the only living member of 13th Politburo Standing Committee of the CPC from the first three plenary sessions.


Early career

Hu was born on 6 October 1929 in Yulin,
Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...
Province. In 1946, he was admitted to
Peking University Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...
to pursue a major in
physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
. In 1948, at the age of 19, Hu joined the CCP. When the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, Hu changed his studies to focus on
politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
.胡启立简历, he biographical notes for Hu Qili From 1951 to 1956, Hu was secretary of the Communist Youth League Committee of Peking University. From 1956 to 1966, he served as the president of the All-China Students’ Federation. In 1958, Hu was granted an audience with CCP Chairman
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...
. During the
Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...
, Hu began to work in the lower levels of the
May Seventh Cadre School May Seventh Cadre Schools () were a system of rural communes throughout mainland China established during the Cultural Revolution to train Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Cadre system of the Chinese Communist Party, cadres to follow the mass line, in ...
s. From 1972 to 1977, he served as the deputy secretary of the
Ningxia Ningxia, officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region in Northwestern China. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in 1954 but was later separated from Gansu in 1958 and reconstituted as an autonomous ...
County Communist Party Committee, the deputy secretary of the Guyuan district Communist Party Committee, and the office director of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Party Committee. After the Cultural Revolution, he served as the deputy president of
Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (THU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Constructio ...
. From 1978 to 1980, Hu was a member of the Secretariat of the Communist Youth League Central Committee and was president of the
All-China Youth Federation The All-China Youth Federation (ACYF) is a people's organization that represents many youth groups in China, and is managed by the Communist Youth League of China. It was founded on 4 May 1949. Former paramount leaders and General Secretaries ...
. From 1980 to 1982, he was the party secretary and the mayor of
Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...
. From 1982 to 1987, he was the director of the General Office, a member of the Secretariat, and a member of the Politburo of the CCP Central Committee. From 1985 to 1989, Hu served as a leading member CCP Secretariat, so a potential future candidate for General Secretary (party leader). From 1987 to 1989, Hu served as a member of the
Politburo Standing Committee The Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), officially the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) an ...
and the Secretariat of the CCP Central Committee.


Tiananmen Square protests

On 15 April 1989, after the death of former
General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...
Hu Yaobang Hu Yaobang (20 November 1915 – 15 April 1989) was a Chinese politician who was a high-ranking official of the People's Republic of China. He held the Leader of the Chinese Communist Party, top office of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from ...
, Beijing university students began to assemble in
Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square () is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen ("''Gate of Heavenly Peace''") located to its north, which separates it from the Forbidden City. The square contains th ...
to protest. This was the beginning of the Tiananmen Democracy Movement. General Secretary Zhao Ziyang thought that the government should talk with the student protestors. As a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and a member of the Secretariat, Hu was placed in charge of propaganda. Hu followed Zhao's instructions and began a propaganda policy for openness and tolerance in engaging the students in dialogue. On 29 April 1989, the ''People’s Daily'' published an editorial titled, Keep Stable, Keep Overall Situation. Hu commented that the Beijing student protesters had begun to act reasonably and that the Chinese government needed to offer more accurate news for the students. He also believed that the student movement should be reported on accurately and without misinformation. Hu also agreed with Zhao Ziyang's speech. On 3 May 1989, Zhao made a speech to commemorate the
May Fourth Movement The May Fourth Movement was a Chinese cultural and anti-imperialist political movement which grew out of student protests in Beijing on May 4, 1919. Students gathered in front of Tiananmen to protest the Chinese government's weak response ...
on its 70th anniversary. In the speech, he stated that the
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
student protesters loved China and called for continued talks with the student leaders. On 19 May 1989, there was an evening meeting to brief the Politburo Standing Committee. Zhao refused to accept the command to institute
martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...
as proposed by Premier Li Peng. Zhao and Hu were the only two members of the Standing Committee opposed to martial law. This began the downturn of Hu's political fortunes. The Fourth Plenum of the Thirteenth Central Committee was held on 23 and 24 June 1989. They approved a decision made two days earlier at a meeting of the Politburo to strip Hu and Zhao as well as Rui Xingwen and Yan Mingfu of their party posts. For a period of time, Hu was expelled from politics in China.


Return to government

In 1991, Hu returned to politics and was appointed vice minister and Leading Party Members' Group member of the Ministry of the Machine-Building and Electronics Industry. From 1993 to 1998, he was the minister of the Ministry of the Machine-Building and Electronics Industry. In 1998, Hu was elected vice chairman of the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s United front (China), united front system. Its members adv ...
. He had a mandate to restore proper political treatment of leaders of the party and state. By convention, persons who hold the positions of the vice chairman of the NPC, vice chairman of the CPPCC, or higher positions are referred to as "Leaders of the Party and the State" (党和国家领导人) in the official media.党和国家领导人, rders of precedence in the People's Republic of China: Leaders of the Party and the State

/ref> Hu became chairman of the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation in 2001, which deals with Chinese charities and welfare projects. Hu retired from that position in November 2016.


References


External links

*
Biography of Hu Qili
, People's Daily Online. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hu, Qili 1929 births Living people 20th-century mayors of places in China Mayors of Tianjin Politicians from Yulin, Shaanxi People's Republic of China politicians from Shaanxi Chinese Communist Party politicians from Shaanxi Members of the 13th Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 12th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party Vice chairpersons of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Directors of the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party