Former President Jiang Zemin, who guided China’s rise, dies

By JOE McDONALD
Associated Press

BEIJING (AP) — State media say former Chinese President Jiang Zemin has died at age 96. Jiang led China out of isolation after the army crushed the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests in 1989. He supported economic reforms that led to a decade of explosive growth. State media say Jiang died in Shanghai of leukemia and multiple organ failure. Jiang saw China through history-making changes including a revival of market-oriented reforms, the return of Hong Kong from Britain in 1997 and Beijing’s entry into the World Trade Organization. His government stamped out dissent, jailing human rights, labor and pro-democracy activists and attacking the Falun Gong spiritual movement.