Yang Rudai | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
杨汝岱 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
| Party Secretary of Sichuan | |||||||||
| In office February 1983 – April 1993 | |||||||||
| Preceded by | Tan Qilong | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Xie Shijie | ||||||||
| Member of the13th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party | |||||||||
| In office November 1987 – October 1992 | |||||||||
| General Secretary | Zhao Ziyang Jiang Zemin | ||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||
| Born | December 1926 Renshou County,Sichuan, China | ||||||||
| Died | February 24, 2018(2018-02-24) (aged 91) Beijing, China | ||||||||
| Political party | Chinese Communist Party | ||||||||
| Spouse | Tan Xiaoying (谭小英) | ||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 楊汝岱 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 杨汝岱 | ||||||||
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Yang Rudai (Chinese:杨汝岱;Wade–Giles:Yang Ju-tai; December 1926 – 24 February 2018) was a politician of thePeople's Republic of China (PRC). He served as theParty Secretary of Sichuan, then China's most populous province, and was the first native Sichuanese to become the top leader of the province since the founding of the PRC. He was a member of the13th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, the top governing body of China.[1] Yang was considered a protégé of the purged reformist leaderZhao Ziyang.
Yang Rudai was born in December 1926 inRenshou County,Sichuan province.[1][2] He received the equivalent of a high school-level education atRen Shou No.1 Middle School.[3]
In the early 1950s Yang actively participated in theland reform that was carried out by the newly established People's Republic of China and was rewarded for his performance. He joined theChinese Communist Party in 1952, and was promoted just two years later to Deputy Party Chief of Renshou County. During the political radicalization of the 1960s, Yang's humble family background made him a model of the "class line" of the Sichuan provincial chiefLi Jingquan, and he was promoted to First Party Secretary of Renshou. However, he subsequently was persecuted due to this tie to Li Jingquan when Li fell from power during theCultural Revolution.[4]
Despite his suffering during the Cultural Revolution, Yang worked hard and took a leadership role in the building of a major reservoir which solved a key irrigation problem.Zhao Ziyang, the new reformist Party Chief of Sichuan, was impressed by his performance and promoted him first to Party Chief ofLeshan prefecture in 1977, and only a year later, to Vice Governor of Sichuan province. Yang became a close assistant of Zhao Ziyang.[4]
When Zhao Ziyang left Sichuan to become thePremier of China in 1980, Yang was favoured to succeed him as the provincial chief. However,Tan Qilong, a senior revolutionary leader, was chosen instead to replace Zhao as a transitional leader to "assist" the relatively young Yang Rudai. Yang became one of the several party secretaries of Sichuan under Tan, but he took charge of the daily operation of the province.[4]
Two years later, Tan Qilong retired from politics along with most senior leaders of the revolutionary generation, and Yang Rudai succeeded him to become the first Sichuan native to serve as its top provincial leader.[4] He was also elected to the12th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in 1982.[3] In 1987 he rose further to become a member of the13thPolitburo, one of China's top decision-making bodies, which was headed by Yang's old boss Zhao Ziyang as General Secretary.[4]
A man from the countryside with limited education, Yang was a cautious leader who avoided making mistakes or forming political factions. His carefulness attracted criticism that Sichuan did not achieve any breakthrough in reform under his leadership. He clashed with GovernorJiang Minkuan, who made reform proposals that were deemed "unrealistic" by Zhao Ziyang. The tension resulted in Jiang's transfer away from Sichuan.[4]
Jiang was replaced as governor byZhang Haoruo in 1988, who came from a "princeling" background and enjoyed a close relationship with PremierLi Peng. Yang and Zhang had serious conflicts during theTiananmen Square protests of 1989. Yang urged the central government to handle the protests peacefully, while Zhang supported the hardline advocated by Li Peng and others.[4] After the imposition of martial law by the central government, Yang changed his position and adopted a harsh policy toward student protesters in Sichuan. Severe conflicts broke out after the arrest of many demonstrators, and the largest shopping center in the provincial capitalChengdu was burned down.[4]
In the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square protests, Zhao Ziyang was purged and placed under house arrest in 1989. Yang, considered a protégé of Zhao, kept his Politburo membership until his term ended. However, he was not reelected into the14th Politburo in 1992 despite not having reached the retirement age.[5]
In early 1992, theNational People's Congress passed a resolution to build theThree Gorges Dam, the world's biggest. It was projected that at the completion of the dam, Sichuan would lose 503 square kilometres (194 sq mi) of land, and nearly a million people would need to be relocated. Yang Rudai was opposed to the dam and supported Sichuanese deputies who strongly protested the decision at the National Congress.[4] In contrast, Governor Zhang Haoruo resolutely supported the national government's decision. Under strong pressure from Beijing, Yang changed his position and agreed to support the project. In compensation, he negotiated an increase of the central government's investment in Sichuan by 18.5 billion yuan. When the deal was reached, Governor Zhang expressed his support on behalf of Sichuan at a press conference, while Yang remained silent.[4]
In 1993 Yang was replaced byXie Shijie as Sichuan party chief, and was transferred to the national level to serve as a Vice Chairman of theChinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a largely ceremonial but prestigious post. He served two terms in that position until 2003.[1][3]
In July 2010 Yang published a memoir in the liberal Chinese magazineYanhuang Chunqiu praising Zhao Ziyang. It marked a rare break of the long-standing taboo in China against mentioning the former leader since he was ousted after the Tiananmen protests.[6]
Yang was said to lead a simple private life.[4] At least until 1988, after he became the Party Chief of Sichuan and a Politburo member, his wife Tan Xiaoying (谭小英)[1] was still a contract worker in a small street factory in Chengdu.[4][7]
On 24 February 2018, Yang died in Beijing at the age of 91 (92 inEast Asian age reckoning). He was extolled by the Chinese government as "an excellent member of the Communist Party of China, a time-tested and loyal communist soldier, and an outstanding leader in agriculture and the economic development of the country".[8]
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| 1993–2003 | Vice-Chairman of the 8th and 9thChinese People's Political Consultative Conference |
| 1993–1998 | Member of the8th National People's Congress |
| 1987–1992 | Member of the13th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, elected to itspolitburo |
| 1982–1987 | Member of the12th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party |
| 1983–1993 | Party Secretary of Sichuan |
| 1978–1982 | Vice Governor ofSichuan |
| 1978–1982 | Member of the CPC Sichuan Provincial and Standing Committees |
| 1977–1978 | Party Secretary ofLeshan |
| 1975–1978 | Member of the4th National People's Congress |
| 1952–1968 | Party Secretary ofRenshou |
Source:[2]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Party Secretary of Sichuan 1983–1993 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
