Li Peng, China’s former premier, died in Beijing late on Monday aged 90. Photo: AFP
Former Chinese premier Li Peng dies, aged 90
- Known in China as a ‘loyal communist warrior’, Li is also remembered abroad as the ‘Tiananmen Butcher’ for backing the crackdown on student-led protests in 1989
- Death of controversial politician prompts renewed calls for him to ‘be held accountable’ for bloodshed three decades ago
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Tiananmen Square crackdown
Li Peng, China’s former premier, died in Beijing late on Monday aged 90. Photo: AFP
Former National People’s Congress chairman Li Peng (right) and former president Jiang Zemin leave the Great Hall of the People at the end of the NPC’s annual session in 2003. Photo: AFP
Obituary: Li Peng, China’s technocrat ‘communist warrior’ who rose to the top in chaotic times
- Li became premier as conservatives and reformists fought over country’s direction in the 1980s and 90s, and oversaw Tiananmen Square crackdown
- A Soviet-trained engineer, Li also pushed for approval for the mammoth Three Gorges Dam project to harness the Yangtze River
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Obituaries
Former National People’s Congress chairman Li Peng (right) and former president Jiang Zemin leave the Great Hall of the People at the end of the NPC’s annual session in 2003. Photo: AFP