Zhao Ziyang dies at 85

Zhao Ziyang, who lived under house arrest for more than 15 years after he was toppled as Communist Party chief, is "free at last" after dying at a Beijing hospital yesterday, his daughter said.

"He passed away peacefully this morning," said Wang Yannan, who changed her surname after her father was purged for opposing the Army crackdown on the student-led Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests.

Zhao had been in a coma after suffering multiple strokes on Friday. He was 85.

"National leaders came to pay respects but it is not convenient to say who they are," said Zhao's son Liang Fang, an executive at a software company.
State media have not reported his death.