China dismisses rumor of former leader's death

HONG KONG, June 7 (Yonhap) -- China on Thursday dismissed a rumor that former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin has died, in an effort to put overwhelming speculation on his whereabouts to rest.
Hong Kong-based broadcaster ATV and other overseas news outlets announced Wednesday that the 84-year-old Jiang, who served as China's president from 1993 to 2003, died from an illness.
"Recent reports of some overseas media organizations about Jiang Zemin's death from an illness are pure rumor," China's state-run Xinhua News Agency said in a one-paragraph dispatch from Beijing, citing "authoritative" sources.
Jiang was said to have suffered from a serious illness. Some media said he suffered a heart attack and had been surviving on a respirator.
Many watchers of China said the country's leaders view Jiang's health as a state secret as it could affect the appearance of unity and political stability in the ruling Communist Party.
The former leader is considered to wield huge influence over a change in China's leadership slated for next year. He was last seen in public at the side of his successor, current Chinese President Hu Jintao, during celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of China as a socialist state in October 2009.
As rumors about Jiang raced through the Internet in China on Wednesday, Chinese authorities exercised censorship.
The Chinese microblog Weibo blocked users from using or searching terms such as "Jiang Zemin," "general secretary" and even "myocardial infarction." ATV canceled at the last minute an urgently scheduled TV program on the life of Jiang and took down the news report about him from its Web site.
Hong Lei, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, declined to comment on the rumor.
"You are advised to refer to a news report run by Xinhua News Agency today," Hong said in a regular press briefing Thursday afternoon.