Hundreds gather at memorial for late liberal reformer Zhao Ziyang
Mourners mark 10th anniversary of Zhao Ziyang's death at his home in Beijing, under slightly eased security, but top aide Bao Tong still banned
Hundreds of mourners gathered to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of late liberal Communist Party chief Zhao Ziyang at his home in Beijing under the careful watch of the authorities.
But Zhao's family said surveillance was lighter than in other years. Several old friends and former senior party officials, as well as Hong Kong media, were allowed to attend the memorial in the courtyard of the home at No6 Fuqiang Alley. Radio Free Asia estimated 600 mourners attended the event, a much larger number than in previous years.
Zhao was premier and party general secretary before being purged for opposing the crackdown on pro-democracy activists in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Beijing authorities accused him of "splitting the party and supporting unrest" and kept him under house arrest until his death on January 17, 2005, aged 85.
His ashes are kept at the home, which is still listed as his official residence, along with those of his wife, Liang Boqi, who died in December 2013.
Mourners were seen entering the courtyard with baskets of flowers. Some bowed in front of Zhao's picture, and others knelt while about a dozen security officers stood watch.
Prominent mourners included Zhao's longtime friend Li Rui, the 99-year-old former secretary to Mao Zedong , and Du Daozheng , the publisher of the liberal political magazine Yanhuang Chunqiu.