Li Peng

Li Peng (Chinese李鹏/李鹏, Pinyin Li Peng, born October 20, 1928) from 1998 to 2003 Chairman of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China and had the second- highest office in the Communist Party of China by Jiang Zemin on the Politburo of the party held. From 1987 to 1998, Li Premier of the People 's Republic of China and Chairman of the State Council. He is counted for so-called Third " Chinese leadership generation."

Personal Background

Li was in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, the son of writer Li Shouxun. His father was one of the first activists of the Communist Party and a martyr of the revolution. Li was in the age of three orphaned when his father was executed by the Kuomintang. He was then adopted by the family of Zhou Enlai. Zhou was probably the most important figure of the Communist Party under Mao Zedong. In 1945, Li joined the Communist Party.

Early career

Li has a technical education, how many party cadres of his generation. He began in 1941 to study natural sciences in the city of Yan'an. Then he was sent to Moscow, where he was trained in the construction of hydroelectric power plants. During this time he was chairman of the Chinese Student Association in the Soviet Union. A year later, the People's Republic of China was founded, and his adoptive father, Zhou Enlai was appointed Prime Minister. Li managed to survive the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution, 1966-1976 unharmed.

1979 Li was deputy minister for the energy industry, in 1981 he was promoted to Minister. He also led the Communist Party organizations that dealt with the problems of energy and water supply.

1982 Li was elected to the twelfth National Congress of the Communist Party Central Committee. Three years later he was promoted to the Politburo and in the Party Secretariat. In 1987 he became a permanent member of the Politburo, and was also at the same time Premier in service. Already since 1983, Li was vice premier of the State Council. In addition, Li served from 1985 as Minister for Education Commission of China.

At the same time, the People's Republic of China has been marked by political problems, such as a growing number of dissidents as well as social problems such as inflation, rural exodus and overcrowded schools. Lis attention was drawn by the problems of energy supply to internal party discussions on the approach to economic reform.

While students and intellectuals pushed for more rapid and comprehensive reforms, many older party members feared that the country would become unstable by fast opening, which would be wide of the goal of economic progress.

Premier of the People 's Republic of China

Hu Yaobang, a protégé of Deng Xiaoping and the driving force of economic reform, was blamed for a series of protests and was forced to resign as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China in January 1987. Prime Minister Zhao Ziyang became his successor as General Secretary, and Li, former deputy prime minister and energy minister, was succeeded as Prime Minister of the People's Republic of China.

After Zhao became general secretary of the party, he proposed in May 1988 to accelerate price reform. This led to many complaints from the public about the rising inflation and opponents of rapid reform demanded greater centralization of economic management and a stronger foreclosure against the influence from the West. This ended in a political discussion, which in winter 1988/1989 still increased.

When Hu Yaobang on April 15, 1989, died, and the economic situation of many people because of the high inflation was difficult broke out student protests, in which participated also large sections of the urban population.

Students used the looser political atmosphere to make a number of grievances attention, for they made the slow pace of reforms responsible. Li, who was heavily influenced by older party members who took the opposite opinion: He estimated that the rapid pace of reform had led to confusion and frustration among students.

Since Li was close to the veterans of the Revolution, especially his political mentor Chen Yun, Li was more conservative than many of his contemporaries and supported a stronger central planning of the economy and an associated slower growth of the economy. Although known as Li Deng Xiaoping to the reforms, he was of the opinion that for economic growth and transition to a market economy needed a stable social and political base.

Tian'anmen

The students and other citizens of Beijing gathered at the Tian'anmen Square, where they mourned together to Hu Yaobang and where they protested against the slowdown of reforms. Although the government tried to suppress the protests, the crowd grew and also demanded an end to corruption and the protection of civil rights which were enshrined in the Constitution of the People's Republic of China. The protests spread to other cities attacked, such as Shanghai and Guangzhou. The demonstrations happened in a time when many communist governments in Eastern Europe already threatened to collapse. The leadership of the Communist Party of China, but especially Li, feared that the Government of the People 's Republic of China could plunge through the protests in Tiananmen Square. Prime Minister Li supported the decision of Deng Xiaoping, quell the protests and announced in May 1989, martial law, which led to the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Western estimates are based on approximately 3,000 dead and 7000-10000 casualties. In June 1989, he was also involved in the dismissal and arrest of Zhao Ziyang, who had opposed Deng.

After the crisis, the protests at Tiananmen Square Li was again elected to the highest decision-making body, the Politburo of the Communist Party. This was the third time in a row that Li got into the inner circle of the Communist Party of China. With the support of conservative forces such as Chen Yun, he tried to make some of the market reforms reversed and strengthen the role of economic planning. But these efforts defied the governors of many provinces as well as Deng Xiaoping, and the famous journey to the south of Deng in January 1992 is seen by many as a blow to the economically conservative forces. The proposal, which was drafted by Li, and which was to restrict the role of markets, was dropped after much resistance.

The ten years in which Li was Premier of the People 's Republic of China were marked by rapid economic growth. We have made ​​great progress in the restructuring of the economy and the opening up to the international markets. The numerous visits abroad Lis promoted the relations of the People's Republic of China to other countries.

Chairman of the National People's Congress

Li remained Prime Minister until 1998, he abdicated because the Constitution provides for only two terms. It was then chairman of the National People's Congress. He spent a lot of time to monitor the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, which he considered his life's work. Like many politicians of his generation who have a technical background, he oversaw a large and rapidly growing industry and considers himself as a doer and a modernizer.

Political heritage

Although Li is now retired and is over 80 years old, he has a great influence on politics. The politician Luo Gan, who was from 1997 to 2007 member of the Politburo, is regarded as his protege.

Li is seen by many as the most unpopular politician of the People's Republic of China. This is due to its image of a little charismatic hardliner and especially to its role in suppressing the protests in Tiananmen Square. Regime opponents call him a butcher of Tiananmen, although it is not known exactly how much was the influence of Li on the imposition of martial law.

Immediately after the Tiananmen Square Massacre Li began with the solution of the problems that had led to the riots. After inflation was controlled with a strict monetary policy, price controls on many goods, higher interest rates and reduced government loans to private companies, they dropped to acceptable levels. His successors managed the measures from again because they were no longer necessary. However, they are seen as the key to the rapid and continuous growth of the economy in the nineties.

Thus, the causes that led to the protest of the students, for the most part eliminated. Inflation is low, the schools and dormitories are not as crowded. The migration from the countryside to the cities in the eighties, which was perhaps the greatest migration in history, is now much more organized. The prestige of the Communist Party has gotten better. The standard of living has increased, particularly in the rapidly growing cities on the coast.

The economic success of years after the protests in Tiananmen Square has influenced the heritage of Li positive and confirms his appreciation of social stability in the transition to a successful market economy. This mindset is now very widely used in the Communist Party.

Private

Li is married and has three children, two sons and a daughter.

About his daughter Li Xiaolin funds of the family from China were transferred abroad by establishing offshore companies would entail. 2005 " Tianwo Development Ltd.. " And Tianwo Holdings Ltd.. based on the British Virgin Islands.