Top Communist Party leaders yesterday held a forum in the Great Hall of the People to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the birth of former chairman Liu Shaoqi , who was ousted from the party during the Cultural Revolution.
Politburo Standing Committee members attended the forum while President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao gave speeches praising the contribution of Liu - a ritual showing his political status in Communist Party history.
Liu was the chairman from 1959 to 1968, during which time he led economic construction to help the country recover from the 1959-61 famine.
However, his popularity led to Mao Zedong perceiving him as a rival. He was purged and named as a traitor and the nation's No1 capitalist follower.
Liu was removed by Red Guards and half beaten and half starved to death in 1969. In 1980 his political status was reinstated.
Mr Hu yesterday praised Liu as a pragmatist who combined Marxism with the realistic needs of the country, and called for cadres to learn from Liu in 'insisting on the truth'.
