Hu Jintao

Background

Hu was born in Jiangyan, Jiangsu province. His ancestors lived in Jixi, the southeastern part of Anhui province. Since his grandfather this branch of his family immigrated to Jiangyan and lived there ever since. Hu was a talented student in high school, excelling in such activities as singing and dancing. He was also active in the Communist Youth Group. Hu joined the Communist Party prior to the Cultural Revolution in 1964 while still a student at Beijing's Tsinghua University. He graduated with a degree in hydraulics engineering in 1964. During the Cultural Revolution, Hu's father was tortured and died in Jiangyan. After graduation Hu had lived in Gansu, a northwestern province of China, as an engineer and an official of the Communist Youth Group for many years.

Related Topics:
Jiangyan - Jiangsu - Jixi - Anhui - Cultural Revolution - Beijing - Tsinghua University - Hydraulics - Engineering - Gansu

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Hu's career is remarkable for his rapid ascent to power, attributed to his moderate views and careful attention not to offend or alienate his older backers. In contrast to the members of the "Shanghai clique", Hu has spent most of his career in China's poorer hinterland rather than in the economically prosperous coastal regions. Partly because of this, he was little known by Western analysts before his ascent to power.

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He is the first party chief to have joined the Communist Party after the Revolution. As Party Secretary of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, he was responsible for a political crackdown in early 1989 that lead to the deaths of several Tibetan activists. He also worked towards some liberalization of cultural activities. In his 50's, Hu was by far the youngest member of the then seven-member Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China. According to his official biography, he possesses a photographic memory. It remains to be seen if Hu is capable of managing the continued peaceful development of China without provoking international incident, while at the same time presiding over a unprecedented increase in Chinese nationalist sentiment.

Related Topics:
Revolution - Tibetan Autonomous Region - Tibet - Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China - Photographic memory - Nationalist

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