Mainland official news agency Xinhua yesterday rejected speculation over the death of former president Jiang Zemin as 'pure rumour', a day after a Hong Kong television station reported he had died.
The central government's liaison office also expressed 'outrage' over Wednesday's ATV report, lambasting the TV channel for 'seriously breaching professional news ethics,' according to Beijing-backed Hong Kong China News Agency. The liaison office did not respond to the Post's inquiries.
'Recent reports of some overseas media organisations about Jiang Zemin's death from illness are pure rumour,' Xinhua quoted 'authoritative sources' as saying in a terse, one-sentence statement issued around noon yesterday. The statement was carried only in English.
Although the 84-year-old former president holds no official post, he still wields considerable influence in the party and his support for his prot?g?s in the leadership reshuffle in next year's 18th Communist Party Congress will be crucial.
Unconfirmed reports carried by overseas media said Jiang was in ill health and in intensive care in Beijing's No. 301 military hospital.
Speculation over Jiang's health has been rife in past few weeks but his conspicuous absence at official celebrations of the party's 90th anniversary on Friday further fuelled rumours about him being terminally ill or even dead.
ATV issued an apology yesterday afternoon just before 5pm, nearly 24 hours after reporting Jiang's death in its 6pm newscast on Wednesday.
