Phayul.com
Tenzin Dharpo
November 24, 2015
Hu Yaobang/file
The official event on Friday at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing was attended by President Xi Jinping and six other members of the Standing Committee of the Politburo.
Xi Jinping spoke on Hu’s commitment and faith in Communist ideals and principles while sidelining his work that is still a rather forbidden area to chart. Xinhua mentioned Xi saying, “To commemorate Hu Yaobang is to learn from his noble character, which was based on keeping the faith and being dedicated.”
Communist Party leaders commemorate the centenary of Hu Yaobang in Beijing on Nov. 20, 2015/file
In his blog, Claude points to reforms by Hu such as agricultural and animal husbandry tax exemption for Tibetans, efforts to develop Tibetan science, culture and education by beginning work to establish the University of Tibet and the incorporation of ethnic Tibetans in political ranks. Hu is even today, affectionately referred to as ‘sku-zhabs Hu’ (Gentleman Hu) by the Tibetans.
When asked if Hu’s brand of liberalism and reformist outlook can find a place in today’s China, he opines, “Today only one part of Hu Yaobang’s reformist approach can survive, which is the economic path. The scope for political reform is now completely closed; the situation in China politically is much more different than it was 10 years ago.”
The Tibetan exile MP Bawa Kelsang Gyaltsen told Phayul, “Hu Yaobang had an air of genuineness in his approach, during his visit to Lhasa in 1980 he was appalled to learn that the standard of living of Tibetan people has worsened and most of the people were living in abject poverty. He famously said, ‘has all the money sent for Tibet’s development been thrown in the Yarlung River?’ while expressing his disgust for how the administrative arms have failed miserably.”
“Hu, through his legacy, still occupies the Chinese people’s heart as a genuine leader who worked for the welfare of the people. His reflection as a symbol is what the party is now trying to milk in terms of public perspective and global outlook through the recent commemoration of his centennial”, he added.
Activist and Poet Tenzin Tsundue minces no words in describing Hu’s public centenary as a PR exercise that has no positive bearings but aims to further lay more traps in a sense. “It’s Xi Jingping’s fleeting attempt to co-opt the sentiment behind one of China’s conscience keepers – Hu Yaobang whose death created the first public uproar for democracy resulting in the Tiananmen Square Massacre. It’s like the fox borrowing the dead sheep’s skin to hunt more of the gullible animal,” said Tsundue.
Hu served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from the end of 1982 to the beginning of 1987. In his speech in Lhasa in 1980, he said, “We comrades in the Central Committee, Chairman Hua as well as several vice-chairmen, were very upset when we heard about this situation. We feel that our party has let the Tibetan people down. We have worked nearly thirty years, but the life of the Tibetan people has not been notably improved. Are we not to blame?”
In the aftermath of Mao Zedong’s death, even though he had been purged twice during the Cultural Revolution, Hu maintained his sense of welfare and worked to push through series of economic and political changes and making enemies along the way. He was instrumental in passing an order to reinstate party members who were wrongly accused and ousted during Mao’s regime, one of which is current President Xi Jinping’s father Xi Zhongxun.
