Biography: Hu Yaobang (Hu Yao-Pang) 1917 1989

Biography: Hu Yaobang

Hu Yaobang (Hu Yao-pang) 1917–1989

‘He would become a political icon, a symbol of liberalism, democracy and freedom of expression.’ (Salisbury 1992, p 386)

Hu was born to a poor family in Hunan. He ran away from home in 1931 and joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He was a young supporter during the Long March and became involved in the political education corps of the Third Front Army. Hu met Deng Xiaoping in 1941 while they were serving in the Red Army.

During the 1950s and 1960s Hu led the Communist Youth League. He alienated many in the Chinese military by his criticism of China’s role in the Vietnam War. Mao sent him to rural Shaanxi during 1964 to improve his ideological dedication. His career mirrored Deng’s as the revolution progressed. During the Cultural Revolution Hu was submitted to public humiliation. He was one of the ‘Three Hus’ from the Youth League who were paraded through the streets and attacked in Beijing. Hu was sent to the countryside to be ‘reformed through labour’.

During 1974 to 1975 Deng brought Hu to work with him. However, they were both removed from leadership roles in 1975 during the power struggle with the Gang of Four. Rehabilitated again in 1977, Hu supported Deng’s modernisation policy. He became head of the CCP propaganda unit in 1978. As Deng’s support was consolidated and Hua Guofeng was moved aside, Hu was promoted to the Standing Committee of the CCP. In 1980 he became general-secretary of the Central Committee and took Hua’s place as chairman of the CCP in 1981.

At the 1979 celebrations for the 30th anniversary of the CCP Hu gave a speech criticising Mao’s mistakes during the Cultural Revolution. According to Hu, Mao’s serious mistakes during the Cultural Revolution were overridden by his ‘immense contributions’ to China. Hu was an energetic and enthusiastic supporter of Deng’s modernisation program and visited Tibet and Japan in the early 1980s.

Hu’s support for the democracy movement caused tension within the Politburo. He was very liberal in his views, at one stage writing in the People’s Daily that Karl Marx did not have all the answers for China because he lived in Europe and during the nineteenth century. He was criticised for encouraging ‘bourgeois freedom’, questioning the Communist Party system and speaking out thoughtlessly. Deng demoted him from the position of general-secretary in early 1987 and he was replaced by another of Deng’s supporters, Zhao Ziyang. Hu’s demotion elevated him to hero status by students who were demanding political reform in China.

It was following Hu’s death in April 1989 that student protests increased. Students called for more freedom of information and for democratic rights during Hu’s memorial service in Tiananmen Square. The students continued their protest until 4 June when the military was ordered to disperse the protesters.