246 CultureShock! China
attacked by Red Guards for attempting to shelter its victims.
He is credited with arranging the historic meeting between US
President Nixon and Chairman Mao. Zhou initiated contact
with the West that eventually led to the US recognition of the
communist government in China.Deng Xiaoping
One of the original founders of the Chinese Communist
Party with Mao, Deng Xiaoping became the party’s Secretary
General in 1954. He was subsequently purged by Mao in 1966
for his strong objections to the destructive excesses of the
Great Leap Forward. By 1974, Deng had been ‘rehabilitated’
and returned to power. After Mao’s death, Deng was the
de facto leader of China until he finally died in 1997. Deng
is thought to be the father of modern China as the reform
programmes he initiated opened China’s economy to the
rest of the world.The Gang of Four
Composed of Mao’s wife Jiang Qing, as well as Zhang Chunqiao,
Wang Hongwen and Yao Wenyuan, this group played a major
role in implementing the destructive measures of the Cultural
Revolution. Upon Mao’s death, the Gang of Four made a play
to take over the leadership of China. The play backfired and
they were all arrested. When publicly announced, news of
their arrest was celebrated across China.Li Ka Shing
Considered China’s most successful businessman, Li is the
richest person of Chinese descent in the world, the richest
person in Asia and the 10th richest man in the world. The
Hutchison Whampoa Limited Chairman was named ‘Asia’s
Most Powerful Man’ by Asiaweek in 2000, as well as being
recognised by the Forbes Family with the ‘Malcolm S. Forbes
Lifetime Achieve Award’ in 2006.Hu Jintao
Current president of the People’s Republic of China (CPC)
and chairman of the Central Military Commission. Hu, a