Zhao Ziyang

Economic Reformer

Zhao Ziyang was born in 1919 in Henan province and joined the Communist Party in 1938. He built his reputation as a pragmatic administrator willing to experiment with market mechanisms. As Party Secretary of Sichuan in the late 1970s, he pioneered the household responsibility system that decollectivised agriculture and produced dramatic increases in food production — so dramatic that the phrase "to eat, seek Zhao Ziyang" became a popular saying. This success caught Deng Xiaoping's attention. Zhao was elevated to Premier in 1980 and oversaw much of the economic reform programme through the 1980s.

General Secretary and Political Reformer

After Hu Yaobang's forced resignation in January 1987, Zhao Ziyang became General Secretary. He was Deng Xiaoping's chosen successor for a second time — though the relationship between them was always complex, with Zhao pushing the boundaries of reform further than Deng was comfortable. Zhao supported political liberalisation alongside economic reform, arguing that the two were inseparable. He encouraged a more open press, allowed greater academic freedom, and was receptive to arguments that meaningful economic reform required corresponding political change.

Tiananmen and House Arrest

In May 1989, as the Tiananmen protests reached their peak, Zhao Ziyang visited hunger-striking students in the square on 19 May. His last public words — "we have come too late" — were widely interpreted as an expression of sympathy. He was the only senior leader to have publicly opposed the imposition of martial law. After the crackdown, Zhao was stripped of all his positions, accused of "splitting the party and supporting turmoil," and placed under house arrest in Beijing. He remained confined to his hutong residence for the last fifteen years of his life, forbidden to make public statements or receive foreign visitors.

Secret Memoir

Zhao Ziyang died in January 2005, still under house arrest, without ever being formally tried or rehabilitated. In the years before his death, he secretly dictated his memoirs onto cassette tapes that were smuggled out of China. Published in 2009 as "Prisoner of the State," the memoir presented his account of the Tiananmen events and his view that China needed to move toward constitutional democracy. It remains banned in mainland China. Zhao Ziyang is remembered as the highest-ranking victim of Tiananmen — and as the last Chinese top leader who publicly argued for political liberalisation.