Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin dead at 96

Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin has died at age 96, according to Chinese state TV.

Jiang died in Shanghai of leukemia and multiple organ failure, state TV reported on its website. A letter was published from the ruling Communist Party, parliament, Cabinet and the military announcing the death.

“Comrade Jiang Zemin’s death is an incalculable loss to our Party and our military and our people of all ethnic groups,” the letter said.

Jiang led China after the country was shaken by the crushing of the Tiananmen Square democracy movement in 1989.

He saw China through history-making changes including a revival of market-oriented reforms, the return of Hong Kong from British rule in 1997 and Beijing’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001.

Even as China opened to the outside, Jiang’s government stamped out dissent at home. It jailed human rights, labor and pro-democracy activists and banned the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which it viewed as a threat to the Communist Party’s monopoly on power.