BEIJING - The Chinese government on Wednesday denied media reports that Vice Premier Huang Ju, one of the nine most powerful men in the Communist Party hierarchy, had died.Earlier, Hong Kong’s Phoenix Television -- citing unidentified sources -- reported that Huang, 68, had died after a battle with cancer. Phoenix reported the news in an on-screen ticker and said it had no further updates. The network later said its earlier report was a “rumour”, and an announcer
“It is our understanding that news regarding comrade Huang Ju’s death is totally unfounded,” an official with the cabinet spokesman’s office said by telephone. State television and radio made no mention of Huang’s condition, despite months of speculation over his health and recent widespread rumours that he was in critical condition.
Huang is ranked sixth in the Communist PartyÂ’s Politburo Standing Committee, the all-powerful group of nine that rules China, where he has been responsible for the key economic and financial portfolios.
An engineer by training, Huang emerged from the Shanghai powerbase of former leader Jiang Zemin, becoming mayor of the financial capital in 1991 and Communist Party boss there in 1994. Huang was educated at the elite Tsinghua University in Beijing, and spent more than four decades as a party member. A native of the eastern coastal province of Zhejiang, Huang was promoted in 2002 to the Politburo Standing Committee.