Former leader Zhao Ziyang in hospital

Former Communist Party leader Zhao Ziyang is in "stable" condition in hospital and receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness, the foreign ministry announced. The announcement followed a weekend report in Hong Kong's Oriental Daily News suggesting Zhao had died. Zhao, once regarded as a future leader of the country, has not been seen in public since 1989 when he was sacked and placed under house arrest after being accused of sympathizing with the pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square. A government report released after the protests accused Zhao of being a "counter revolutionary" and of "splitting the Party."