Chinese World Leaders: 20th and 21st Centuries Quiz

Answer: Zhou Enlai

Zhou Enlai (1893-1976) was born in Huai'an, Jiangsu Province, the adopted eldest son of a well-to-do Tianjin family. He was educated at Nankai University and in Japan (1915-1918). He also went to study in France, England and Germany. He joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1921 and returned in 1924 to work with Sun Yat-Sen.

He was a skilful diplomat who made great contributions to creating diplomatic relationships with USA and Japan. During the Cultural Revolution, he protected many cultural sites from destruction by the Red Guards, winning great support for his people.

Answer: Deng Xiaoping

Deng Xiaoping (1904-1997) was born in a peasant family in Guang'an, Sichuan. In the 1920s he went to France to study and work, where he became a follower of Marxism-Leninism and joined the CCP in 1923. Upon his return to China, he joined the CCP in Shanghai. During the Sino-Japanese War, he was the political commissar for the Red Army.

He was the supreme leader from 1978 until his retirement in 1992 due to poor health. He was chiefly responsible for open door policy which enable China to develop into an economic superpower.

Answer: Zhu De

Zhu De (1886-1976) was born in Yilong County of Sichuan Province. He was one of the founding leaders of the Communist Party of China and Chinese People's Liberation Army. In 1916, Zhu De fought under General Cai E to overthrow Yuan Shi-kai who was trying to revive imperialism in China. He was inspired by Cai E and later became one of the most successful military commander in the Red Army. From 1937 to 1945, he was the chief military commander of the Red Army in the wartime resistance against Japan.

Answer: Jiang Zemin

Jiang Zemin (born 17 August 1926) was the third paramount PRC leader who served as General Secretary of the CPC from 1989 to 2002, as Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the CPC from 1989 to 2004 and as President of the PRC from 1993 to 2003.

He was born in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province. In 1989, as the Party Secretary in Shanghai, his handling of the crisis in Shanghai was keenly noticed by Deng Xiaoping. The party leaders selected him as the CPC General Secretary, replacing Zhao Zhiyang who was considered too lenient toward the student protesters. During his presidency, China achieved tremendous economic growth.

Answer: Hu Jintao

Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) was born in Jiangyan, Jiangsu Province. He was the fourth paramount leader of China. From 2002 to 2012, he was the CPC General Secretary, Chairman of Central Military Commission from 2004 to 2012 and President of PRC from 2003 to 2013. He pursued soft power in international relations and a corporate approach to diplomacy. During his tenure, he increased China's influence in Africa, Latin America and other developing nations.

Answer: Chiang Kaishek

Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975), was born in Xikou, a town in Fenghua, Zhejiang province. He was lieutenant of Sun Yat-sen who took part in the overthrowing of the Beiyang government to unify China. During the Sino-Japanese War from 1937 to 1945, he was chief military commander of China. After his Nationalist army was defeated by the Communist during the Civil War (1945-1949), he resettled in Taiwan and became the President till his death in 1975.

Answer: Tsai Ing-wen

Tsai Ing-wen (born 1956) was the 7th President of Taiwan appointed in 2016. She was the second person from the Democratic Progressive Party to be elected president. She earned an LLB from National University of Taiwan, LLM from Cornell Law School and Ph.D in law from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She was the first female president of Taiwan.

Answer: Zhu Rongji

Zhu Rongji (born 23 October 1928) was born in Changsha, Hunan, in a family of intellectuals and wealthy landowners. His family was believed to be the descendants of Ming dynasty founding emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang. He served as the 5th Premier of China from 1998 to 2003. During his tenure, his policy saw double-digit economic growth in China. His pragmatism and his efforts to get rid of corruption in the government and party leadership gained him great popularity with the Chinese citizens. After his retirement in 2003, he was completely out of the public scene.

Answer: Xi Jinping

Xi Jinping (born 15 June 1953) was born in Beijing. He was the fifth paramount leader in China. He assumed the office as President of PRC in 2013, CPC General Secretary in 2012 and Chairman of the Central Military Commission in 2012. In March 2018, the National People Congress in China had passed a bill to remove the term limits for a leader and approved Xi Jinping as President of Life.

His anti-corruption campaign had seen the downfall of many prominent party members, including members in the Politburo Standing Committee.

Answer: Li Keqiang

Li Keqiang (born 1 July 1955) was part of the fifth generation of PRC leaders. He was born in Hefei, Anhui province. During the Cultural Revolution, he was sent to Fengyang County in Anhui to work as a rural labourer in 1974. He then became a member of CPC and became the party head of the local production team.

In 1982, he became the party secretary of Communist Youth League at Beijing University. In 1998, he became the youngest provincial governor at the age of 43 in Henan.