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."
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