ZHAO ZIYANG

Motion Text

That this House notes with concern the news that the 85 year old Zhao Ziyang, former General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, is seriously ill; recognises that Zhao Ziyang developed a reputation as a reformer and is still held by many people in China as a symbol of democracy; recalls his direct appeal to the students and others who were assembled in Tiananmen Square in 1989 to clear the Square in order to avoid the bloodshed that later took place; is aware that since that time he has been held under de facto house arrest; and requests the Chinese authorities now to treat Zhao Ziyang with the dignity his contribution to modern China deserves.