Deng Liqun
Deng Liqun (November 27, 1915 – February 10, 2015) was a Chinese politician and theorist who was one of the leading figures of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the 1980s, most well known for his involvement with the party's propaganda work. Deng was born in Guidong County, Hunan province, and joined the CCP in 1936. He came from an intellectual family and joined the party out of intellectual commitment. He was often referred to as "Little Deng", to be distinguished from Deng Xiaoping (no relation), the "Old Deng".
Deng Liqun | |
|---|---|
| 鄧力群 | |
Deng Liqun in Yining, Xinjiang, August 1949 | |
| Secretary of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party | |
| In office September 1982 – November 1987 | |
| General Secretary | Hu Yaobang |
| Head of Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party | |
| In office April 1982 – August 1985 | |
| Preceded by | Wang Renzhong |
| Succeeded by | Zhu Houze |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 27, 1915 Guidong, Hunan, China |
| Died | February 10, 2015 (aged 99) Beijing, China |
| Political party | Chinese Communist Party |
| Spouse | Luo Liyun |
| Children | Deng Yingtao |
| Alma mater | Peking University |
| Deng Liqun | |||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 鄧力群 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 邓力群 | ||||||||
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Purged during the Cultural Revolution, Deng emerged in the 1980s as one of the most vocal members of the hardline wing of the party in the lead-up of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. He advocated for the orthodox Communist-style planned economy and spoke out against market-oriented economic reforms and political liberalization. He retreated from active politics in 1987, after failing to secure enough internal support to gain a seat on the CCP Politburo, which was partly attributed to his hardline ideological stance, but continued to agitate for the hardline line.