I had heard a sad rumor last week regarding Granite Studio fave Chairman Hua Guofeng, and sent a message out through my new favorite procrastination device “Twitter”:
Hearing a rumor that former Chairman (and Granite Studio fave) Hua Guofeng has passed away in a Beijing hospital. Tracking…
I couldn’t confirm it and my source said that the CCP was probably sitting on the news to get their political ducks in a row and to not upset the happy-happy clappy-clappy atmosphere of the Olympics.
Well, the Chinese media is declaring that China has already “won” the Games (how somebody ‘wins’ a celebration of sport and culture is a whole other topic…) and with Liu Xiang limping off the Olympic stage, Xinhua probably figured now is as good at time as any.
Hua Guofeng, who briefly ruled China as communist founder Mao Zedong’s successor but was pushed aside by Deng Xiaoping as a prelude to reforms that launched an economic boom, died Wednesday, state-run media reported.
Sad day indeed here at the Studio. I’ll write a more fitting tribute later, until then, see below for previous articles on Hua Guofeng:
“Come Back Hua Guofeng, All is Forgiven” (October 11, 2007)
“This Date in History: Hua Guofeng” (October 6, 2006)
