Qiao Shi

Qiao Shi (simplified Chinese: 乔石; traditional Chinese: 喬石; pinyin: Qiáo Shí; Wade–Giles: Ch'iao Shih) (born December 1924 in Shanghai) is a politician in the People's Republic of China. He was born as Jiang Zhitong (simplified Chinese: 蒋志彤; traditional Chinese: 蔣志彤; pinyin: Jiǎng Zhìtóng), to parents of Dinghai, Zhejiang province ancestry. He is said to be distantly related to Chiang Kai-shek's family and this was the cause for the persecution he suffered during the Cultural Revolution. A recognised international studies expert within the Communist Party, Qiao Shi was at one time ranked third in the Communist Party leadership. Despite Western speculation in the 1990s, Qiao Shi never rose to paramount power and retired in 1998.