Retired Chinese premier Wen Jiabao lectures schoolchildren on climate
Wen Jiabao visits rural school to give lecture on geography, but analyst sees a political motive
Wen visited Liudaohe Secondary School in Xinglong county, Chengde, last Tuesday and Wednesday, staying overnight at the teachers' dormitory, said the city government's website yesterday.
Photos posted on the website showed Wen on a morning run among students, doing physical exercises during class break, laughing with students and teachers, and writing a diary in his dorm room.
This is the fourth time Wen has visited the boarding school in a mountainous area some 120km from Beijing, and the second time he has given a geography lecture.
His first visit was in 2010, when he was still in office, followed by two visits in April and May last year after his retirement. Wen's visit last week was followed by former president Hu Jintao's rare public appearance in Sichuan on Thursday.
Hu also attended the 104th anniversary celebration of his alma mater, Tsinghua University, on April 26 with his wife.
Beijing-based commentator Zhang Lifan said Wen's appearance came after a ' report about his children's alleged business ties with a domestic developer.
"He may not be able to make a defence for himself now … He can only use this way to show that he is still very safe," Zhang said.
He said Hu's appearance was "less necessary" than Wen's. His visit to Sichuan might have been to remind the public of his political achievements, he said.
But Renmin University political scientist Zhang Ming cautioned against reading too much into the appearances. "It is normal that they come out, since they won't stay at home all day after retirement," he said.
In a separate development, Jiang Mianheng , the elder son of Hu's predecessor Jiang Zemin , appeared at a conference on academic integrity at the ShanghaiTech University last Wednesday, where he serves as the president.
