China marks 100th birth anniversary of former vice premier

BEIJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of Tao Zhu, a senior Party official and former vice premier who was purged during the Cultural Revolution.

"Tao Zhu was a loyal and outstanding member of the Communist Party of China (CPC). He made a remarkable contribution to the independence and liberation of the Chinese people and construction of the country," said Li Changchun, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau, at the ceremony.

Tao, born in central China's Hunan Province, joined the CPC at the age of 18 when he studied at Whampoa Military Academy in southern Guangdong Province, at which many famous military leaders for both the CPC and Kuomintang armies received training.

"CPC members shall learn from him to be royal to the Party, care for the people's interests above all others and work hard to find out the truth," Li said.

"We shall carry on the traditions of Party members from former generations and work hard to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects," he said.

Tao represented the People's Liberation Army in talks with Fu Zuoyi, the Kuomintang general, to peacefully liberate Beijing during the civil war in 1949.

In 1965, Tao was appointed Vice Premier and head of the publicity department of the CPC Central Committee. He was later discredited and branded a "counter-revolutionary" during the Cultural Revolution and died of cancer four years later under house arrest.

After the Cultural Revolution ended in 1978, the CPC Central Committee exonerated him and praised his work.