Qiao Shi
Qiao Shi | |
---|---|
乔石 | |
6th Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress | |
In office 27 March 1993 – 15 March 1998 | |
Preceded by | Wan Li |
Succeeded by | Li Peng |
Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection | |
In office November 1, 1987 – October 18, 1992 | |
Preceded by | Chen Yun (first secretary) |
Succeeded by | Wei Jianxing |
Director of the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party | |
In office June 1983 – April 1984 | |
General Secretary | Hu Yaobang |
Preceded by | Hu Qili |
Succeeded by | Wang Zhaoguo |
Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission | |
In office 1985–1992 | |
Preceded by | Chen Pixian |
Succeeded by | Ren Jianxin |
Personal details | |
Born | Shanghai, Republic of China | 24 December 1924
Died | 14 June 2015 Beijing, China | (aged 90)
Political party | Chinese Communist Party (1940–1998) |
Spouse |
Yu Wen
(m. 1952; died 2013) |
Children | 2 sons and 2 daughters |
Qiao Shi | |
---|---|
Hanyu Pinyin | Qiáo Shí |
Wade–Giles | Ch'iao2 Shih2 |
IPA | [tɕʰjǎʊ ʂɨ̌] |
Yue: Cantonese | |
Yale Romanization | Kiùh Sehk |
Jyutping | Kiu4 Sek6 |
IPA | [kʰiːu˩ sɛːk̚˨] |
Qiao Shi (24 December 1924 – 14 June 2015) was a Chinese politician and one of the top leaders of the
Early life
Qiao Shi was born Jiang Zhitong (蔣志彤; Jiǎng Zhìtóng) in December 1924 in
Mao era
After the People's Republic of China was established in 1949, Qiao Shi served as a leader of the
Rise to power
After the end of the Cultural Revolution, Qiao Shi became the deputy director of ILD in 1978,and Director in 1982, responsible for managing relationships with foreign communist parties. He also became an alternate member of the
Tiananmen Square and aftermath
Qiao Shi was thought to have played a key role during the
Qiao Shi managed to keep his leadership position when his Politburo colleagues Zhao Ziyang and Hu Qili, who opposed the crackdown, were purged. In the political aftermath of Tiananmen Square, Qiao Shi and Premier Li Peng were touted as two of the top candidates to lead the party. However, Deng and many party elders felt that Li Peng was too far left and unwilling to transition China out of a planned economy to take the top job. Qiao Shi therefore appeared to be a 'default' choice based on his experience and seniority at the time.[4] Deng personally arranged a meeting with Qiao Shi to discuss the leadership question.[7] However, Qiao Shi eventually lost out to his rival, Shanghai Party Committee Secretary Jiang Zemin, who assumed the party's leading post in 1989 and the presidency in 1993.[4]
It was never made clear why Qiao Shi did not get the nod to become party leader. Observers speculated that Qiao Shi had too much prior experience in law enforcement and therefore was more prone to hardline, aggressive tactics to deal with issues, or that Qiao Shi had lost favour with important "party elders" – retired leaders who nevertheless held significant influence in the leadership succession process. Qiao Shi instead became
Relationship with Jiang Zemin
After 1989, Qiao Shi was known to have a tense relationship with the newly appointed General Secretary Jiang Zemin. Jiang, who had overnight climbed from a municipal leader to Leader of the Chinese Communist Party, was a mere Politburo member at the time he was called up to Beijing to take the reins (Qiao was a Standing Committee member, one rank above Jiang). Qiao was a party veteran who had served the central organization for over a decade, while Jiang never had any experience in the centre. Qiao also had a glowing resume with revolutionary credentials during his days as a student agitator in Shanghai; Jiang's revolutionary experience appeared unsubstantial by comparison.[7] As a result, it was not lost on political observers and those in the highest echelons of power that Jiang had 'leapfrogged' over Qiao, who by all measures seemed more qualified, had better credentials, and had a wider political network compared to Jiang.[7] Moreover, Qiao Shi's time as China's law enforcement chief meant that he had trusted aides staffed in key positions around the country, which was seen as a dormant threat if not an explicit challenge to Jiang's leadership.[7] After Deng Xiaoping's southern tour in 1992, many believe that Deng would remove Jiang Zemin from the position of General Secretary with Qiao Shi as the replacement and replacing Premier Li Peng with reformer Vice Premier Zhu Rongji due to Jiang and Li's relatively conservative approach towards economic reform which has resulted in a halt of reform and opening policy and a slowdown of economic growth between 1989 and 1991. This has not happened due to the quick switch side of Jiang Zemin and Li Peng from the more conservative side led by Chen Yun to the more reform side led by Deng Xiaoping in April 1992.
Retirement
After the death of China's paramount leader Deng Xiaoping in 1997, Jiang Zemin succeeded in excluding Qiao Shi from the CCP Central Committee and the Politburo at the 15th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party by lowering the retirement age for party officials to 70 years of age, consolidating his power.[8] In 1998, Qiao Shi, then 73, retired from politics, and largely stayed out of the public eye thereafter.[1]
While Qiao Shi left active politics in 1998, his tenure in the highest echelons of the party and government earned him the distinction of holding the largest number of key offices compared to any of his contemporaries or any leader in succeeding generations. Among other things, Qiao Shi was at one point the top official in charge of party administration, organization and human resources, ideological indoctrination, internal discipline, intelligence, internal security, legislation, law enforcement, and the justice system.[a] By virtue of his Standing Committee membership, Qiao Shi remained the top official in charge of law enforcement even during his term as the chairman of the National People's Congress.[7]
Unlike his peers, most notably Jiang Zemin and Li Peng, Qiao Shi did not attend even the most important events on the Chinese political calendar after he retired, including the successive party congresses, National People's Congresses, the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, or various anniversaries of historical events.[9] In 2012, he published the book Qiao Shi On Democracy and Rule of Law, which received significant attention from both domestic and international media.[4] That Qiao Shi, a normally low-profile figure content with retirement, would publish such a work in his old age led to speculation that the book was a veiled criticism against the perceived deterioration of the legal and security portfolio under security chief Zhou Yongkang. In 2014, Qiao Shi donated 11 million yuan to the China Legal Exchange Foundation, whose goal was to promote justice and the rule of law.[10]
Decline and death
Qiao Shi died on 14 June 2015 in Beijing at the age of 90. In his official obituary, Qiao Shi was extolled as "an excellent Party member, a time-tested fighter for the communist cause, and an outstanding proletarian revolutionary, statesman and leader of the Party and the state".[citation needed] Qiao Shi was the first major leader from the third-generation of leadership to have died. His obituary numbered over 2,000 Chinese characters, half of the length of the obituaries of second-generation stalwarts Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yun, but far higher than the word count of the obituaries of Hua Guofeng, Liu Huaqing, and Huang Ju, who were each given a mere few hundred words.[11] The announcement of his death was the third item on the evening Xinwen Lianbo program; the announcement was made in the form of a "joint statement" by the top organs of the party and state, which is generally reserved for only the highest-ranked leaders.[12]
Flags were flown at half-mast in mourning of Qiao Shi's death.
Family
Qiao Shi married Yu Wen (郁文; 1926–2013) in early 1952. They had met when they were both working for the underground Communist Party in Shanghai in the 1940s. They had two daughters and two sons. Their eldest son, Jiang Xiaoming (蒋小明; born 1953), earned a doctorate in economics at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. Their younger daughter, Qiao Xiaoxi (乔晓溪), studied medicine at Baylor University and worked in the United States.[3][14] They had two other children, son Jiang Xiaodong (蒋小东) and daughter Qiao Ling (乔凌). Qiao's family is largely scandal free and has never been the target of overseas media speculation or criticism, unlike the families of other top Communist officials.[1]
Honours
In April 1996, Qiao Shi was awarded an
Notes
- ^ By comparison, "security czar" Zhou Yongkang (Standing Committee term 2007–2012) was responsible for intelligence, security, and law enforcement, but was never part of the party administration and organization systems.
References
- ^ a b c d e Gan, Nectar (14 June 2015). "Former China Communist Party senior official Qiao Shi dies at 91". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-134-53175-2.
- ^ a b c Lu Mengjun (14 June 2015). 乔石往事: 妻子是陈布雷外甥女, "文革"期间被贴了大字报 [Qiao Shi's past: wife was a niece of Chen Bulei]. Eastday (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 17 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7864-3582-1.
- ^ a b c "Qiao Shi". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
- ^ a b 乔石同志简历. Eastday (in Chinese (China)). 14 June 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g Niu Lei (14 June 2015). 牛泪:乔石与江泽民交往秘史. Duowei (History Channel).
- ^ Seth Faison (10 September 1997). "China's President Ousts Rival From High Party Positions". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ^ 关于乔石需要了解的五个事实. Duowei News. 14 June 2015.
- ^ Jess Macy Yu (23 February 2015). "Former Chinese Premier Draws Praise for His Philanthropy". The New York Times.
- ^ a b Mu, Yao (19 June 2015). 第三代无一人露面 中共澄清江泽民不送乔石.
- ^ 新闻联播 June 24, 2015. CCTV. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016.
- ^ 揭秘中共曾为哪些元老降半旗. 17 June 2015.
- ^ 乔石女儿乔晓溪:母亲郁文是我心灵的避风港. Beijing Youth. 1 April 2015.