BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Hong Kong, Taiwanese press mourn hero

BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Hong Kong, Taiwanese press mourn hero: "Hong Kong, Taiwanese press mourn hero

Hong Kong newspapers heap praise on late Chinese premier Zhao Ziyang, who showed sympathy for the 1989 pro-democracy protesters, in contrast to China's low-key coverage of his death.

Editorials reflect the high esteem Zhao was held in the former British colony, which still enjoys some Western-style freedoms. Many lament the absence of political reform in modern China.

Taiwanese papers, recalling Zhao's house arrest after Tiananmen Square, urge Beijing to clear his name in a fusillade against the current Chinese leadership.

He will be remembered here as a reformist leader who was in touch with the people - a Communist Party chief with a distinctive human touch. It would be optimistic to think that a posthumous 'rehabilitation' of Zhao by the party is imminent. But we hope people on the mainland will be allowed to freely mourn his passing - and to openly pay tribute to the former leader's undoubted achievements.

Hong Kong's South China Morning Post - editorial

Zhao Ziyang advocated democracy and the rule of law so he was ousted and illegally put under house arrest by certain people. What was Zhao Ziyang's crime? Was democracy a crime? Was the rule of law a crime? They expunged Zhao Ziyang's name from history and this illegal measure has exposed the illegal nature of these people. Attempts to cover up the truth have exposed their shamelessness and weakness. Mourning Zhao Ziyang is a quest for democracy, the rule of law, and a republic system.

Hong Kong Economic Journal, commentary by Zhao Ziyang's former secretary, Bao Tong

Today, the question of appraising Zhao Ziyang could be called a test of the Chinese Communist Party's ruling ability. If some people worry that positively affirming Zhao Ziyang could trigger 'turmoil', remember Zhao Ziyang's words - 'resolve problems on the track of de"