Zhao Ziyang - Assassination Attempts

Assassination Attempts

Since Sichuan province was a strong base of Maoist radicalism during the Cultural Revolution, the ardent followers of the Gang of Four vehemently opposed Zhao's reforms. However, Zhao's policy had huge popular support and the supporters of the Gang of Four turned to assassination after all other supposedly legal means failed. Over the years in Sichuan during the Cultural Revolution, there were no fewer than half a dozen attempts on Zhao's life, the most serious of which was an ambush of Zhao's jeep in a valley during one of his trips. He narrowly escaped death, but in an attempt to save Zhao's life, his driver/secretary was crushed and buried in the artificially induced landslide. This was the only fatality that resulted from attempts on Zhao's life. The last culprits were not caught until 1983, well after the end of the Cultural Revolution.