The Ousting of General Secretary Hu Yaobang: The Roles Played by Peng Zhen and Other Party Elders

Abstract

With the support of Party elders led by Deng Xiaoping, Hu Yaobang assumed the top position in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This article examines the roles played by the powerful ＂revolutionary elders＂ in Hu`s dismissal from the post of CCP General Secretary in early 1987. Special attention is paid to the role of Peng Zhen. This detailed study furthers our understanding of the nature and operations of Chinese elite politics in the Deng era, and of the complex generational relations between the old revolutionaries and the successor generation of leaders.