Zhao Ziyang, former Secretary General of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), passed away on the morning of January 17, 2005. The Epoch Times reporter Xin Fei recently interviewed Professor Andrew J. Nathan, Chair of the Department of Political Science at Columbia University. Professor Nathan was Director of the East Asian Institute (1991-1995), Chair of the Advisory Committee of Human Rights Watch, Asia (1995 - 2000) and continues to serve on this committee, and is on the board of Human Rights in China. Professor Nathan is one of the three editors for the English version of the book The Tiananmen Papers, for which the Chinese government put him on a black list
barring him from entering China.

In an interview conducted in Chinese with an Epoch Times journalist, when asked how to appraise Zhao Ziyang, Professor Nathan said, "Zhao Ziyang's achievements are in two areas: one is the economic reform, especially in rural reforms and opening coastal areas. The second is politics. He had a wide vision. He saw that the CCP needed to change its working methods and its relationship with society, needed to increase transparency, further separate party and government, and develop the electoral mechanism. He was also willing to perform political reform, but to what extent he would carry out such a reform, we are not sure about. However, his vision was much wider than that of Li Peng, Jiang Zemin, Deng Xiaoping and the leaders of his age."[1]

Regarding Zhao Ziyang’s visit to protesting students at Tiananmen Square in 1989 and his opposition to violent repression, Professor Nathan said, "This is an act that reflected his principles, namely, in principle, he was not willing to use violence to suppress students, and he remained loyal to his principles."

Regarding whether the CCP will hold a memorial for Zhao Ziyang, Professor Nathan pointed out, "This is a difficult problem for them. If they held a memorial, that would be a signal from the Chinese central government to recognize his popularity. If a memorial were to be conducted, people would then sensitively watch for the wording of the speeches on the memorial, and judge whether the appraisals on Zhao are accurate and complete. If they chose not to hold a memorial, many people in the society would think that it is unfair and unjust, which would cause people to become dissatisfied."

Regarding whether the CCP will restore the reputation of Zhao Ziyang and readdress the Tiananman incident, Professor Nathan said, "I think that is impossible, because the current leadership of the CCP does not gain any political benefits from readdressing the Tiananmen incident. They would receive no benefits for doing so. They will not take any initiative to readdress it unless they are pressured by the society to do so.”

When Zhao Ziyang’s health was in danger prior to his passing away, Professor Nathan told the Associated Press, "Beijing clearly remembers how the passing away of Hu Yaobang in 1989 stimulated the Tiananmen Square protests. Zhao's passing away could also become such a fuse, produce an opportunity, or become a starting point for the expression of resentful feelings, and groups could come together to make up a greater force. Zhao was seen as a symbol of striving for democracy".

Professor Nathan is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Democracy, The China Quarterly, The Journal of Contemporary China and China Information among others. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the National Committee on US-China Relations, the Association for Asian Studies, and the American Political Science Association. He does frequent interviews for print and electronic media, has advised on several film documentaries about China, has consulted for business and government, and has published essays and Op-Eds in The New Republic, the Asian Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, and elsewhere.

Note:

[1] All quotes were translated by The Epoch Times.