Zhao Ziyang (
Zhao, 85, went into shock related to a lung ailment on Friday evening and was given emergency treatment, Hong Kong-based activist Frank Lu said in a telephone interview.
Lu had said earlier in the week that Zhao was hospitalized for lung problems, citing Zhao's daughter, Wang Yannan.
"He is still in a deep coma," said Lu, who said he had spoken to Wang yesterday morning. "His condition is unchanged."
China's official Xinhua News Agency reported later yesterday that Zhao's condition had stabilized -- an extremely rare disclosure by the government, which usually refuses to respond to requests for information about the ousted leader.
"Zhao is still receiving continued careful treatment at the moment," said the brief report carried on Xinhua's English language news wire.
There was no corresponding Chinese-language bulletin, suggesting that the Chinese government published the report for foreign consumption only.
Chinese newspapers and broadcast media made no mention yesterday of Zhao's illness.
"How is he? We have no way of hearing about his condition," said Ding Zilin (
"We are very concerned about him. We hope he can make it through this critical period," said Ding, a retired academic whose son was killed in the crackdown.
The leadership's reluctance to let the Chinese public know about Zhao's condition is a sign of Communist Party unease about his lasting potency as a political symbol and fears that his death could spark widespread discontent.
Andrew Nathan, a specialist on Chinese politics at Columbia University, said Chinese leaders remember how the death of Hu Yaobang (
"The death of Zhao could well become a triggering incident or a spark that would -- just like the death of Hu -- create an opportunity and an emotional focus point for all kinds of dissatisfied elements to express themselves and to congeal into a larger force," Nathan said. "He's seen as a symbol of the demand for democracy."
Zhao has spent more than 15 years under house arrest since he was purged from the party leadership following accusations of sympathizing with hunger strikers in Tiananmen Square who for seven weeks had demanded democratic reforms and the resignation of then Premier Li Peng (李鵬).
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
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