April 15 is the anniversary of Hu Yaobang’s death. Hu was the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader during the most important time for economic reform in the 1980s. Then-paramount leader Deng Xiaoping ousted Hu for being sympathetic to “bourgeois liberalism.” Hu’s death 23 years ago triggered the student protests, which were ended by the bloody crackdown on June 4, 1989, in Tiananmen Square.
April 5 is the Chinese Qingming Festival, the day for people to visit the graves of departed ones. For many years, people have been going to Hu Yaobang’s grave in Jiangxi Province on that day. What makes this year different is that the official Chinanews reported that many people have visited Hu’s grave to show their respect.
