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South China Morning Post, 17 January 2015

Zhao Ziyang’s family ‘proud’ of his Tiananmen legacy, says son 10 years after his death; there is no shame in unchanged official verdict on him

When late liberal Communist Party chief Zhao Ziyang was purged in 1989 for opposing the military crackdown on the Tiananmen protest movement, he was accused of “splitting the party” and “supporting unrest”.

He then spent the next 16 years under house arrest until his death 10 years ago today.

His youngest son Zhao Wujun said he wants the official verdict on his father to be remembered as his family continued to fight for the right to bury his ashes. “‘Supporting unrest and splitting the party’ – I want this engraved on his tombstone,” he said, when asked whether he wanted the official verdict reversed. “To our family, this is no shame – it’s our glory.”

Zhao Ziyang’s opposition to the armed attack on student demonstrators made him a symbol of conscience among many ordinary Chinese. But his name had become taboo among the authorities and is censored from official media to this day.

His ashes are still kept at his former courtyard home in Beijing as no agreement has been reached with the government on a burial site. “This weighs on our hearts still,” his son said. “We want him buried properly.”

The party offered to bury his ashes at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery after he died, but the family wanted the former party secretary to be buried privately in a public cemetery.

“We don’t want father’s burial to be linked to politics or official ranking. We just want a quiet, family burial,” Zhao Wujun said.

He said after their mother died more than a year ago, the family told the authorities of their wish to have both parents’ ashes buried privately, but had not received a response.

Zhao Ziyang’s funeral in 2005 was a sensitive event as the authorities feared his death could spark large-scale mourning. On the day of his funeral, police and security agents were posted on every corner along Changan Avenue, Beijing’s main thoroughfare.

The authorities are still nervous about invoking the memory of Zhao because of what he stood for – political liberalisation and his refusal to suppress people’s voices, observers say.

“So long as the June 4 issue is unresolved, my father’s name will remain a sensitive matter,” Zhao Wujun said. Although the family cared little about whether the former party chief’s reputation was rehabilitated, it was important for the country to reflect on its mistakes, he said.

“If our country does not deeply reflect upon this issue, what hope have we got?” he asked. “I don’t want June 4 to be our nation’s burden … So long as this remains unresolved, there is no question of national pride for the Chinese people, and a nation without pride has no hope.”

While the son blamed former leaders for China’s many problems since 1989, he hoped President Xi Jinping could make a difference.

“We hope he will be able to … genuinely implement political reform,” Zhao said.

He also called for “new thinking” from officials when dealing with voices of opposition, including matters concerning Hong Kong. As long as authorities clinged to the idea that ordinary people must be subjugated and loyal, “there will only be more problems,” he said.

His father, who co-signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration in December 1984, called for a progressive attitude towards Hong Kong. The son recalled an incident he witnessed in the late 1980s, when his father told Xu Jiatun, China’s representative in Hong Kong, that officials should adopt a hands-off approach to Hong Kong governance.

“He said [to Xu], you’re not Hong Kong’s governor and you’re not in Britain’s shadow cabinet … after 1997, we must completely leave Hong Kong to Hong Kong people,” Zhao said.

Hong Kong has played an important role during China’s reform and opening up era and should still be taken as an example for political liberalisation in China, said the younger Zhao, who was born in Guangdong.

“If it weren’t for Hong Kong and Taiwan, China’s economic reforms would be unimaginable,” he said.

“Hong Kong is China’s blessing. I believe that Hong Kong will also be an example for China’s political reform.

“The implementation of democracy in Hong Kong is very meaningful for China,” he said. “Hong Kong’s status quo must be protected.”

Zhao said he was impressed by the way Hong Kong people pushed for free elections and sought to safeguard their core values. “There are people who will speak up against injustice and they still have an innocent heart,” he said. “If they become slaves, or obedient children, then what is the point of Hong Kong?”