Hu Qili

In thisChinese name,thefamily nameisHu.

Hu Qili
Hồ khải lập
First-ranked Secretary of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party
In office 24 September 1985 – 24 June 1989
General Secretary	Hu Yaobang Zhao Ziyang
Preceded by	Hu Yaobang
Succeeded by	Qiao Shi
Politburo Standing Committeemember of theChinese Communist Party
In office November 1987 – June 1989 Serving withZhao Ziyang,Li Peng,Qiao Shi,Yao Yilin
General Secretary	Zhao Ziyang
Director of theGeneral Office of the Chinese Communist Party
In office April 1982 – June 1983
General Secretary	Hu Yaobang
Preceded by	Yao Yilin
Succeeded by	Qiao Shi
Personal details
Born	(1929-10-06)6 October 1929 Yulin, Shaanxi,Republic of China
Political party	Chinese Communist Party
Spouse(s)	Hao Keming ( Hách khắc minh, d. 2023)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	Hồ khải lập
Simplified Chinese	Hồ khải lập
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Hú Qǐlì

Hu Qili(Chinese:Hồ khải lập;born 6 October 1929) is a former high-ranking politician of theChinese Communist Party(CCP), known as a champion of the country's economic reform program in the 1980s. He was thefirst secretaryof theCCP Secretariatfrom 1985 to 1989 and a member of theCCP Politburo Standing Committeefrom 1987 to 1989. Following the1989 Tiananmen Square protests,he was purged for his sympathy toward the student protesters and his support forGeneral SecretaryZhao Ziyang'sopposition 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 of13th Politburo Standing Committee of the CPCfrom the first three plenary sessions.

Early career

Hu was born on 6 October 1929 inYulin,ShaanxiProvince. In 1946, he was admitted toPeking Universityto pursue a major inphysics.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 onpolitics.

From 1951 to 1956, Hu was secretary of theCommunist Youth LeagueCommittee 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 withCCP ChairmanMao Zedong.

During theCultural Revolution,Hu began to work in the lower levels of theMay Seventh Cadre Schools.From 1972 to 1977, he served as thedeputy secretaryof theNingxiaCountyCommunist Party Committee,the deputy secretary of theGuyuandistrict Communist Party Committee, and the office director of theNingxia Hui Autonomous RegionParty Committee.

After the Cultural Revolution, he served as the deputy president ofTsinghua University.From 1978 to 1980, Hu was a member of the Secretariat of the Communist Youth League Central Committee and was president of theAll-China Youth Federation.From 1980 to 1982, he was theparty secretaryand the mayor ofTianjin.From 1982 to 1987, he was the director of theGeneral Office,a member of theSecretariat,and a member of thePolitburo of the CCP Central Committee.From 1985 to 1989, Hu served as theFirst Secretary of the CCP Secretariat,so a potential future candidate for General Secretary (party leader).From 1987 to 1989, Hu served as a member of thePolitburo Standing Committeeand theSecretariat of the CCP Central Committee.

Tiananmen Square protests

See also:Tiananmen Square protests of 1989

On 15 April 1989, after the death of formerGeneral SecretaryHu Yaobang,Beijing university students began to assemble inTiananmen Squareto protest. This was the beginning of the Tiananmen Democracy Movement. General SecretaryZhao Ziyangthought 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, thePeople’s Dailypublished 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 theMay Fourth Movementon its 70th anniversary. In the speech, he stated that theBeijingstudent protestersloved Chinaand 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 institutemartial lawas proposed by PremierLi 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 theThirteenth Central Committeewas held on the 23 and 24 of June 1989. They approved a decision made two days earlier at a meeting of the Politburo to strip Hu and Zhao as well asRui XingwenandYan Mingfuof 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 as vice minister and Leading Party Members' Group member of theMinistry 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 theChinese People's Political Consultative Conference.He had a mandate to restore proper political treatment ofleaders 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" ( đảng cùng lãnh đạo quốc gia ) in the official media.

Hu became chairman of theChina Soong Ching Ling Foundationin 2001, which deals with Chinese charities and welfare projects.Hu retired from that position in November 2016.

External links

• (in Chinese)Biography of Hu Qili,People's Daily Online.