Rumours of Jiang Zemin's death abound amid official silence

Rumours have intensified in the past 24 hours about the death of former president Jiang Zemin, amid Beijing's heightened secrecy about his health and heavy censorship.

Months of speculation reached a climax last night when Hong Kong-based ATV led its main newscast with a report that the 84-year-old former leader had died, citing unspecified sources in the capital.

However, the report did not detail the time or cause of death. A programme on Jiang's life, slotted in at the last minute and scheduled to run at 9.30pm, was later cancelled.

State media did not confirm the report yesterday despite widespread rumours saying that the propaganda authorities had told government-controlled mainland media outlets to be on standby for breaking news about the retired leader.

Rumours about Jiang's failing health were fuelled after the former Communist Party general secretary was conspicuously absent from high-profile celebrations of the party's 90th anniversary last week.

Mainland internet users broke a long-held taboo on discussions of the health problems of senior party figures in the past two days, with some posts saying Jiang was terminally ill or even dead - including satiric verse and comics - becoming hits in chat rooms and on microblogging sites.

Interest in clarifying the health rumours was intense, with many expressing disbelief but saying they had long been prepared for the passing of the former leader, who retired from his last official party post, the chairmanship of its Central Military Commission, seven years ago.