The unwelcome spectre of Tiananmen Square was raised over the Chinese Communist Party Congress in Beijing yesterday. It was reported that the former party leader, Mr Zhao Ziyang, had petitioned the leadership to review its verdict condemning the 1989 pro-democracy protests as counter-revolutionary turmoil.
Mr Zhao, who was dismissed from his post for sympathising with the students, has not been seen in public since the army crushed the demonstrations on June 4th, 1989.
Now 77 and evidently making his first venture back into politics, he told the party leaders, according to a Reuters report: "It is baseless to determine the nature of [the movement] as a counter-revolutionary rebellion. Everyone knows that at the time most of the students wanted punishment of the corrupt and to promote political reform and not to overthrow the Communist Party."
Mr Zhao, who has been under virtual house arrest since his fall from power, allegedly sent his petition as an open message to delegates to the five-yearly congress, with copies for the 18-strong ruling Politburo, headed by President Jiang Zemin, reports said.
Addressing the presidium in the letter, dated September 12th, which was leaked to western journalists and diplomats yesterday, he declared "once it was not a counter-revolutionary rebellion, the method of armed suppression should not have been used to resolve it.
"Even though a long time has already passed, the people will not just forget. It is better to resolve this sooner rather than later. It is better to actively rather than passively resolve this. It is better to resolve this when the situation is stable rather than when trouble appears.
"I hope our party will judge the hour and size up the situation, and make an early decision."
Diplomats in Beijing rated Mr Zhao's chances of having the verdict rewritten as slim while Mr Li Peng remains in the top party echelons. The Prime Minister, ranked number two in the Politburo, gave the order for martial law to be declared. (Some diplomats raised doubts about the authenticity of the letter, saying it was unlike Mr Zhao.)
Months before the student protests, Mr Zhao was engaged in a bitter power struggle with Mr Li over reform. As party chief in 1988, he presided over a period of soaring inflation when prices were allowed to be determined by supply and demand.
In the face of growing unrest about the cost of living and corruption, conservatives in the party allied to Mr Li reasserted state control and put the brakes on reforms.
Mr Jiang's predecessor had lost the internal struggle before the crackdown. At 5.45 a.m. on May 19th, he came to Tiananmen Square to visit students on hunger strike.
"I have come too late," said Mr Zhao, with tears in his eyes. He begged the students without avail to end the hunger strike, knowing that he could no longer protect them. It was his last public appearance.
"The problem of reassessing June 4th will have to be resolved sooner or later," argued Mr Zhao, who has refused party pressure to acknowledge his "mistakes".
It was reported in Beijing yesterday that the former party leader was in good health and continued to take an active interest in political reform, but his whereabouts are unknown. There have been reports that he has been allowed to play golf occasionally.
Mr Jiang has given little indication that the party will tolerate debate about the events of Tiananmen Square.
However at Deng Xiaoping's funeral in February and in his address to the Congress on Friday, he referred to the events of 1989 as "political disturbances" rather than counter-revolutionary rebellion.
The death of Deng, who made the final decision in 1988 to deploy the People's Liberation Army to crush the demonstrations, has raised hopes among pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong of a review of the party's verdict.
A radical pro-democracy group in Hong Kong said yesterday it planned to heckle Mr Li Peng when he comes to the World Bank/IMF annual meeting in the territory on Tuesday next.
"We are targeting Li because of his role in the crackdown of the June 4th movement," said Mr Leung Kwok-hung, leader of the fringe April 5th Action Group. "Even today he still maintains a hard line against the pro-democracy movement in China."
The week-long 15th Party Congress ends on Thursday and will be immediately followed by a meeting of the new 300-member Central Committee on Friday at which the leadership will formally be endorsed for another five years.
Hong Kong newspapers report that a power struggle is still under way behind the scenes as Mr Jiang tries to consolidate his position and Mr Li seeks to retain a place in the top level of leadership after his term as Prime Minister expires next spring.
Mr Jiang's most powerful rival, National People's Congress president, Mr Qiao Shi, may step down after the Congress.