Zhao Ziyang

[ jou zœ-yahng ]

noun

1. 1919–2005, Chinese Communist leader: premier 1980–87; general secretary of the Communist Party 1987–89.

Example Sentences

When student protesters occupied Tiananmen Square to demand democratization and an end to official corruption, Mr. Yan was sent as an intermediary by the reformist party secretary, Zhao Ziyang, who wanted to persuade the students to end a hunger strike and ensure a successful visit to Beijing by Mr. Gorbachev.

From New York Times

In 1989, Yan was a member of the four-person Secretariat under then-General Secretary Zhao Ziyang when student-led protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square appealed for a public voice in government and an easing of strict social and political controls.

From Seattle Times

Party elders picked Jiang to replace General Secretary Zhao Ziyang amid the party’s greatest crisis in the post-Mao era.

From Washington Post

His two immediate predecessors as party boss, Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang, had been purged.

From Washington Post

He had potent motivation, too: Jiang’s predecessor as party general secretary, Zhao Ziyang, became famous around the world by chatting openly with protesters before the crackdown — and being purged and placed under years of house arrest afterward.

From Seattle Times