Beijing University’s President Ousted : He Didn’t Deter Students Leading Pro-Democracy Movement

BEIJING — The president of Beijing University, whose students helped lead the pro-democracy movement that was crushed in June, was replaced today by the Education Commission.

Ding Shisun was the second university president replaced since the protests. The official New China News Agency portrayed the move as nonpolitical and said the 62-year-old Ding had asked as early as February to leave for “health and other reasons.”

However, school officials said repeatedly within the last month that Ding had no plans to leave. When contacted by telephone as recently as Monday, they said Ding remained president and made no mention of a planned change.

Ding was replaced by 56-year-old Wu Shuqing. Wu had been vice president of People’s University, whose students also took part in the protests.

Students from Beijing University, considered China’s most prestigious school, took the lead in the protests, as they traditionally have in past political movements.

Ding maintained a low profile during the protests, speaking out only to urge a speedy solution to the problem. But he also did nothing to stop his students, while other schools put heavy pressure on their students to stop protesting and some even locked their campus gates before major marches.

Also today, Anna Chennault, head of the Republican Heritage Council, met with Vice President Wang Zhen. She said she would report back to President Bush, but Bush said today that he had not asked her to convey a message to the Chinese.

New China News Agency claimed that Chennault today told Wang that the military crackdown on the pro-democracy movement was China’s internal affair and that no foreign country should interfere.

Chennault, contacted by telephone, laughed when the news dispatch was read to her. However, she declined to say whether it was accurate.

Chennault, widow of World War II “Flying Tiger” founder Gen. Claire Lee Chennault, arrived in Beijing last Thursday. She was tight-lipped about her visit, saying only that she had “met important people” and had “constructive discussion” with leaders.

A senior Communist Party official said that corruption within the party was largely to blame for the pro-democracy movement and that the party should be purged of Western influences, official reports said today.

Politburo member Song Ping said ideological deviations within the 47-million-member party were “quite severe” and called for a purge of party leaders with “bourgeois liberal,” or Western, leanings, the official People’s Daily reported.