More on Zhao

Zhao Ziyang is now said to be in a coma, according to CNN.

Despite Wen Jiabao's closeness with Zhao, the Communist Party has got to be worried - there's a history with the funerals of beloved officials. It was the funeral of Hu Yaobang that sparked the Tiananmen protests in 1989. Hu was seen as a liberal who cared about the common Chinese, so I would be surprised if the Party wasn't thinking about that today. No doubt, China's changed a great deal in fifteen years, but there's still the possibility of Zhao's funeral metamorphosing into a 2nd Tiananmen. Given that many of the things that sparked the first Tiananmen have gotten worse for large parts of the country, Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao are probably worried sick about Zhao's death. I wouldn't be surprised if we find out a few weeks from now that Zhao's dead and buried somewhere in secret.