Zhang Xueliang, a great Chinese patriot, died on Sunday at 20:50 local time, at his residence in Hawaii, the United States.
Chinese President Jiang Zemin has sent a message of condolence to relatives of the former general. Jiang, also general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), in his message spoke highly of Zhang's historic contributions and expressed deep grief on behalf of the CPC and the Chinese people.
Jiang described him as a "great patriot," saying Zhang had made historic contributions to "ending the 10-year (1927-1937) civil war, helping realize the second cooperation between the Kuomintang and the CPC, and making the whole nation take part in the war of resistance against Japanese aggression." He said the CPC and the Chinese people will always cherish the memory of Zhang Xueliang.
Together with General Yang Hucheng, General Zhang Xueliang helped the Communist Party of China (CPC) to pressure Chiang Kai-shek, leader of the then Kuomintang regime, to sign an agreement, on December 12, 1936, which began the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45).
The Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles presented a wreath.
While Zhang was very ill, Xu Shiguo, China's acting consul-general to Los Angeles, visited him in Hawaii, to convey the regards of Chinese leaders, the government and the Foreign Ministry.
During the visit, Xu praised Zhang for his special contribution to the reunification of the motherland and the emancipation of the nation. The Chinese at home and abroad will always remember his merits, Xu told the old man.
Upon hearing the news of Zhang's death, the governments of northeast China's Liaoning Province and Haicheng City, Zhang's hometown, also sent messages of condolences to his relatives.
According to records, Zhang was put under house arrest by the Kuomintang regime after the Xi'an Incident which is regarded as a great boost to the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, brought to Taiwan in 1949, when the Kuomintang regime was toppled by the CPC-led revolution and then fled to the island province.
On December 15, 1993, Zhang left Taiwan, for the first time in 44 years, to visit his relatives in the United States, and in 1995, settled in Hawaii.
(Xinhua News Agency 10/15/2001)
