BEIJING: President Xi Jinping attended a “solemn” ceremony in Beijing on Tuesday (Nov 3) to mourn Liu Yandong, one of only a handful of women to have sat on the Chinese Communist Party’s elite Politburo, state media reported.
Liu, a former vice-premier, died on Oct 28 “due to illness” in Beijing, according to state news agency Xinhua. She was 80.
In 2007, Liu ascended to the 25-member Politburo at China’s 17th Party Congress.
She was one of six women that have been a full member of the top policymaking body, which today is all men.
She held that seat until 2017 when she retired from the Politburo, though she remained a vice-premier until 2018.
Liu graduated from Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University where she was associated with former Chinese leader Hu Jintao.
During her political career she oversaw health, education, science, culture and sport, as well as women’s and children’s issues.
