Hu Jintao Era

 Hu Jintao

• He was born Dec. 21st, 1942.
• He was  the paramount leader of China from 2002 to 2012.
• He held the offices  of General Secretary of the Communist Party (2002-2012)
• He was President of the People's Republic from 2003 to 2013.
• He was Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 2004 to 2012.
• He was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee.
• This is China's  de facto top decision-making body from 1992 to 2012.
• Hu participated in the Communist Party for most part of his career.
• Generally  as Party  Committee Secretary  for Guizhou province & the Tibetan Autonomous  Region.
• Then later he was 
• a) First Secretary of the Central Secretariat.
• b) Vice-President undr former leader Jiang Zemin.
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• Hu is the first leader of the Party without any significant revolutionary credentials
• His rise to the leadership represented China's transition of leadership from established Communists to younger, more pragmatic technocrats.
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• During his term in office, Hu reintroduced state control in some sectors of the economy.
• They had been relaxed by the previous administration.
• But he was conservative with political reforms.
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• With his colleague Premier Wen Jiabao, Hu presided over nearly 
• a) a decade of consistent economic growth.
• b) and development that cemented China as a major world power.
• He sought to improve socio-economic equality domestically.
• This was through the Scientific Outlook on Development.
• Its aim was to build a "Harmonious Socialist Society" that was prosperous and free of social conflict.
• Under his leadership, the authorities cracked down on
• a) social disturbances
• b) ethnic  minority protests
• c) dissident figures.
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• In foreign policies, Hu advocated for "China's peaceful development."
• In this way, he pursued soft power in international relations.
• He also took a corporate approach to diplomacy.
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• Throughout Hu's tenure, China's influence grew
• a) In Africa
• b) in Latin America & 
• c) other developing regions.
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• Hu possessed a low-key and reserved leadership style.
• His tenure was characterized  by collective leadership & consensus-based rule.
• These traits made Hu a rather enigmatic figure in the public eye.
• His administration was known for its focus on technocratic competence rather than the personal element.
• At the end Hu won praise for retiring voluntarily from all positions.
• He was succeeded by Xi Jinping.
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Early Life

• His birthplace was Jiangyin, Jiangsu.
• Hu was born on Dec. 21st, 1942 in Taizhou, Jiangsu province.
• His branch of the family migrated from Jixi County, Anhui to Taizhu during his grandfather's generation.
• Though his father owned  a small tea trading business in Taizhou, the family was relatively poor.
• His mother was a teacher and died when he was seven years old.
• He was  raised by an aunt.
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• H's father was denounced during the Cultural Revolution
• This event had had a deep effect upon Hu along with humble beginnings.
• He diligently tried to clear his father's name.
• He joined the Communist Party of China in April 1964.
• He began to work as an engineer in July 1965.
• This was after he graduated from the Water Conservancy Engineering Department at Tsinghua University.
• He majored in the study of hub hydropower stations.
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• During his time at Tsinghua, he met his wife Liu Yongqing.
• In 1968, Hu volunteered his service in Gansu
• He worked  on th construction of Liujiaxia Hydroelectric Station.commission.
• He also. managed CPC affairs for the local branch of the Ministry of Water Resources and Electric Power.
• From 1969 to 11974 he worked for Sinohydro Engineering  Bureau as an engineer.

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Early Political Career

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• In 1973 Hu was switched.  to the Construction Dept. of Gansu as a secretary.
• The next year he was promoted to vice senior chief.
• In 1980 Deng Xiaoping implemented the "Four Transformations" programme.
• This was to produce communist leaders who were "more revolutionary, younger, more knowledgeable, and more specialized."
• In response to this Song Ping, the first secretary of the CPC Gansu Committee (Gansu's governor)  discovered Hu Jintao.
• He promoted Hu several ranks to the position of deputy head of the commission.
• another protege of  of Song, Wen Jiabao, became prominent at that time.
• In 1982 Hu was promoted.
• This was to the position of Communist League Gansu Branch Secretary.
• He was also appointed as the Director of the all-China Youth Federation.
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• His mentor Song Ping was transferred to Beijing as Minister of Organization of the Communist Party of China.
• There he was in charge of senior cadres' recommendation, candidacy and promotion.
• With the support of Hu  Yaobang & Deng Xiaoping, Hu was assured a bright future in the Party.
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Hu & Hu Yaobang

• During his term, Hu escorted Hu Yaobang to visits around the country.
• Hu Yaobang ws the CPC General Secretary at that time.
• Hu Yaobang was himself a veteran of the Youth League.
• Thereby he would be able to advise him.
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Leading the Party in Guizhou

• In 1985, then Communist Secretary Hu Yaobang pushed for Hu Jintao to be transferred to Guizhou.
• This was at the provincial Committee Secretary of the CPC.
• Hu attempted to improve the economy of the backward province.
• Healso visited all of its 86 counties.
• In Guizhou, Hu was careful to follow Beijing's directives.
• He did have a reputation of being quiet.
• He rarely would offer his views on policy matters in public.
• Hu was generally seen as an official with integrity & honesty.
• In 1987, Hu Jintao handled the local students' protest parallel to the Democracy Wall.
• In Beijing, similar protests resulted in Hu's forced  resignation.

Tenure in Tibet

• Hu Yaobang was purged in the late 1980s.
• This was due to his "liberal' tendencies towards systematic reform.
• His departure from the political scene was initially seen as unfavourable towards Hu Jintao.
• Hu Jintao drew criticism  from Party elders for failing to criticize the ousted reformer.
• In 1988 Hu was transferred  to become Party Regional Committee Secretary of the Tibetan Autonomous Region.
• At the same time he took on the role of Political Commissioner of the local PLA units.
• this made Hu  the numbe -one figure in the vast region.

Conflict

• Unrest & ethnic conflict were brewing
• This also happened for anti-Han Chinese sentiments among segments of ethnic Tibetan society.
• Minor clashes had been occurring since 1987.
• when the scale of unrest grew, Hu responded with  the deployment of some 1,700 People's Armed Police into Lhasa in Feb. 1989.
• This was an attempt to warn against further disturbances. 
• Increased clashes culminated in serious rioting in Lhasa's core.
• This took place on March 5th 1989.