RTRH9NN
18 Dec. 1992
China
FILE PHOTO 18DEC92 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin (L) exchanges documents with his then Chinese counterpart Yang Shangkun in this December 18, 1992 file photo. Former Chinese President Yang Shangkun, aged 92, died on Monday of an unspecified illness, the official Xinhua news agency reported September 14. Yang was president for five years until 1993, when then paramount leader Deng Xiaoping pushed him aside. During the late 1980's and early 1990's, Yang was regarded as the second most powerful man in China behind Deng. A political hardliner, Yang played a crucial role in the bloody crackdown on the 1989 student-led pro-democracy movement.
HB/JO/WS
