Former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin (江澤民) has passed away from leukemia and organ failure in Shanghai. That’s according to a statement from the Communist Party of China on Wednesday.
Jiang came to power unexpectedly following the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, after Communist Party General Secretary Zhao Ziyang (趙紫陽) was ousted for his support of the student movement. Jiang later became China’s paramount leader, serving from 1993 to 2003.
Jiang is most famous in Taiwan for his 1995 Eight Points speech, which put forward propositions for mending the relationship between Taiwan and China and advancing peaceful unification. Relations soured between both sides after Taiwanese President Lee Tung-hui (李登輝) visited the US that year. That visit provoked anger from Beijing and led to the third Taiwan Strait Crisis.
Jiang was known for his conservative views toward Taiwan during his time as Chinese leader. His 1993 paper, dubbed The Taiwan Question and Reunification of China, stated that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China.