Beijing Allows Low-key Farewell to Zhao

Days of wrangling over the politically sensitive memorial service for the former Chinese premier Zhao Ziyang, who died 11 days ago, ended yesterday when the government approved a low-key ceremony.

It will be held tomorrow morning at Babaoshan cemetery for revolutionary heroes in Beijing.

Reflecting communists' nervousness about commemorating a leader purged for tearfully sympathising with Tiananmen Square protesters in 1989, there was no announcement in the Chinese media and dozens of prominent dissidents were kept under house arrest to prevent them mourning in numbers.

The Zhao family has endured an awkward standoff with the government since the 85-year-old died on January 17.

Initial plans for a ceremony last Sunday were postponed because both sides could not agree on the numbers allowed to attend or the wording of an official eulogy.

The party accused Mr Zhao of making "grave mistakes" for his opposition to the 1989 crackdown. But the elderly politician refused to accept this verdict even though he was under house arrest for the past 15 years.

The Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao reported that the impasse had been broken on Tuesday after the intervention of President Hu Jintao, who insisted that human dignity take precedence over politics.

The compromise, reportedly agreed the next day, allowed the family to invite members of the public, while government representatives will withhold an official pronouncement on Mr Zhao's record until after the memorial. What will happen to his ashes has yet to be decided.

"We just want to let father rest in peace as soon as possible," Mr Zhao's son-in-law, Wang Zhihua, told Reuters.

The "body farewell ceremony" will be far less prestigious than a state funeral. Attention will focus on which leaders attend and how many people pay their respects.

Cadres are still divided about the treatment of Mr Zhao and the slaughter of protesters in 1989. Although the official line is that the use of tanks was necessary to quell a destabilising revolt, there have been repeated calls for a reappraisal.

The decision whether or not to attend the ceremony will place some officials in a difficult position, including Premier Wen Jiabao, who was among a small group of sympathisers who joined Mr Zhao at Tiananmen Square to appeal to students to leave.

Thousands are said to have paid their respects at Mr Zhao's house over the past 10 days, but it is unclear how many can attend the ceremony. Many supporters have not been allowed to leave their homes. Security is tight around Tiananmen Square and students have been warned off.

Agence France-Presse reported yesterday that police had used violence outside government offices in the Yongding men district of Beijing to disperse a gathering of 60 petitioners wearing the white paper flowers of mourning.

The 1989 protests were sparked by the death of the purged popular reformer Hu Yaobang.

Censorship, detentions, occasional violence by the authorities and growing affluence has led to political apathy in China. Few under the age of 30 are aware of what Mr Zhao did and many are more interested in making money than old political passions.

The controversy surrounding the former premier is unlikely to end after the service, however. "For whatever reason, he tried to prevent the crackdown and the bloodshed," said Wenran Jiang, one of the mourners invited to the ceremony.

"He deserves credit for that."