Published by: World Tibet Network News Friday, September 19, 1997

BEIJING, Sept 19 (AFP) - Here are short biographies of the members of the Chinese Communist party's new politburo standing committee -- the country's top policy-making body -- in order of rank:

JIANG ZEMIN, 71: -- A native of eastern Jiangsu, Jiang is referred to as the "core" of the central leadership. As president, general secretary of the party and chairman of the Central Military Commission, he holds the three most powerful posts in China.

The civilian technocrat rose to the acme of Chinese politics in 1989 after the suppression of the pro-democracy movement, replacing the disgraced Zhao Ziyang as party chief. He had been mayor of Shanghai since 1985 after a career in the machinery and electronics fields.

Jiang remains largely untainted by the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, although

he recently issued an unambivalent defence of the decision to send in the

army. His lack of a military power-base is seen as a key weakness in the

event of leadership power struggle.

LI PENG, 69: -- The premier of the State Council (prime minister), Li was born in western Sichuan. He trained in the Soviet Union from 1948 to 1954 as an engineer, and returned to China to rise through the Ministry of Energy.

Li was elected to the politburo standing committee in 1987 and became premier in 1988. An economic planner thought to retain faith in the old Soviet style of central planning, Li emerged victorious in 1989 on a wave of conservatism that replaced the liberal reforms advocated by Zhao Ziyang.

Li's father was killed by the Kuomintang and he was later adopted by the revered first premier of China, Zhou Enlai. However, although Li is a favorite son of the old guard, as the leader most widely associated with the Tiananmen massacre, he remains unpopular with the Chinese public.

He must resign the premiership in March next year, having served the maximum two terms allowed by the constitution, but is likely to take the chairmanship of the National People's Congress following the retirement of its present holder, Qiao Shi.

ZHU RONGJI, 69: -- Zhu was appointed Vice Premier in 1991 and given overall responsibility for the national economy a year later.

After a meteoric rise through the Shanghai party ranks, Zhu succeeded Jiang Zemin as mayor of the city in 1988 and was widely credited with avoiding bloodshed during the 1989 unrest there.

Considered a pragmatic reformist, Zhu enjoys considerable cachet abroad, but risks being targetted as the fall-guy at home if the economy founders.

He is almost certain to succeed Li Peng as premier in March next year.

LI RUIHUAN, 63: -- Li, currently in charge of propaganda and culture, was born in 1934 in Tianjin. The former carpenter and one-time national model worker rose to become mayor of his native city. He was elevated to the politburo after June 1989 and is considered a moderate, with broad-based intellectual support for his reformist leanings.

HU JINTAO, 55: -- At the tender age of 55, Hu is the "baby" of the politburo. A native of eastern Anhui province, Hu enjoyed a rapid rise during the 1980s under the patronage of Hu Yaobang and conservative party elder Song Ping.

Hu's two stints as party secretary in Guizhou and Tibet between 1985 and 1982 kept him out of harm's way during the purges of Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang. He was appointed to the politburo standing committe in 1992.

WEI JIANXING, 66: -- Wei has headed the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the party's anti-corruption watchdog, since 1992 and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) since 1993.

He recently stepped down as interim party secretary of Beijing, where he took charge of clean-up operations in the wake of a massive graft scandal centring on his predecessor in the post, Chen Xitong.

Born in eastern Zhejiang province, he worked as an engineer in northeast China's metals industry before rising to leadership positions in the Harbin city government, where he became mayor and party vice secretary in the early 1980s. Wei was promoted to Beijing in 1984 as vice chairman of the ACFTU.

LI LANQING, 65: -- Li was elected vice premier in March 1993 after joining the politburo in October 1992. His portfolio is international trade and education and he his expected to take over Zhu's economy portfolio if Zhu, as expected, is promoted to premier in March.

Li was born in eastern Jiangsu province and attended Shanghai's Fudan University. Starting out in the auto industry, he held a number of central government economic posts before making his mark as minister of foreign trade and investment during the 1980s.