Hua Guofeng, Mao’s Successor, Dies
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
BEIJING — The official Xinhua News Agency says former Chinese leader Hua Guofeng has died at the age of 87.
Hua ruled China for only a few months after he succeeded communist founder Mao Zedong in 1976. Deng Xiaoping pushed Hua aside as a prelude to reforms that launched an economic boom.
State broadcaster CCTV says Hua died today. Xinhua says the cause of death was an unspecified illness.
