World News | Ex-Chinese President Jiang Zemin's Memorial Meeting on Dec 6; Body Flown from Shanghai to Beijing

Beijing, Dec 1 (PTI) China on Thursday announced that the memorial meeting for former Chinese president Jiang Zemin who passed away on Wednesday in Shanghai will be held on December 6 here.

The remains of Jiang were also transferred to Beijing from Shanghai aboard a special flight on Thursday, according to an official announcement from Comrade Jiang Zemin's Funeral Committee headed by President Xi Jinping.

Also Read | CNN Layoffs: CEO Chris Licht Confirms Sackings Amid Economic Uncertainty, Hundreds of Employees To Be Affected.

A memorial meeting for Comrade Jiang Zemin will be held in the Great Hall of the People, the iconic building overlooking the sprawling Tiananmen Square, in Beijing on December 6 at 10 am, and will be telecast live, the announcement said.

Xi and other senior party leaders went to the airport to receive Jiang's remains, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Also Read | East Pakistan Debacle in 1971 A ‘Military Failure’, Says Pak Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardar.

Tributes for Jiang will be paid by the Central Committee of the ruling Communist Party (CPC), the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the Central Military Commission (CMC), and the overall high command of the Chinese military besides other party and government organisations.

On the day of the memorial meeting, flags across the country, Chinese embassies, consulates, and other institutions stationed abroad will fly at half-staff, and public entertainment activities will be suspended for one day.

People across the country will observe a 3-minute silence.

In accordance with Chinese practice, foreign governments, political parties, and friendly personages will not be invited to send delegations or representatives to China to attend the mourning activities, an official media report on Wednesday said.

The announcement of Jiang's death was made by the top organs of the ruling Central Committee of the CPC for which he was the leading light for over two decades.

His death comes as China sees some of its most serious protests since the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy demonstrations, with many protesting against harsh Covid restrictions in the country.

While Jiang was widely acclaimed for his leadership after Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, the two iconic leaders of the CPC, the deceased leader was credited with leading China out of isolation from the ignominy of the Chinese military, crushing the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests.

He was also credited with putting China on a sustained path of economic development, laying the foundation to emerge as the second-largest economy in the world.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)