Li Peng

And so it’s time to bring Li Peng to a conclusion… Peng served as China’s premier between 1987 and 1998, during the presidencies of Yang Shangkun and Jiang Zemin. A favourite of party elders such as Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yun, Peng was strongly opposed to any market reforms in the country. This put him at odds with both some leading politicians and many young Chinese. The most notable manifestation of this was Tianamen Square, when 100,000 people, mainly students, gathered ahead of the funeral of Hu Yaobang, who favoured liberalisation of the economy. Li didn’t, so he set the military to disperse protesters, killing an estimated 2,000 Chinese civilians and earning himself the nickname “the Butcher of Beijing”. 

Li Peng
20 October 1928 – 22 July 2019
Died aged 90 (unique hit)