Hu Qili (; born 6 October 1929) is a former high-ranking politician of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He was a member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee and a member of its Secretariat between 1987 and 1989. In 1989, he was purged because of his sympathy toward the students of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and his support for General Secretary Zhao Ziyang. However, he was able to get back into politics in 1991. In 2001, he was named chairman of the Soong Ching-ling Foundation. Early career Hu was born on 6 October 1929 in Yulin, Shaanxi Province. In 1946, he was admitted to the Peking University to pursue a major in physics. In 1948 and at the age of 19, Hu joined the CCP. When the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, Hu changed his studies to focus on politics. From 1951 to 1956, Hu was secretary of the Communist Youth League Committee of Peking University. From 1956 to 1966, he served as the president of the All-China Students’ Federation. In 1958, Hu was granted an audience with Chairman Mao Zedong. During the Cultural Revolution, Hu began to work in the lower levels of the May Seventh Cadre Schools. From 1972 to 1977, he served as the deputy secretary of the Ningxia County Communist Party Committee, the deputy secretary of the Guyuan district Communist Party Committee, and the office director of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Party Committee. After the Cultural Revolution, he served as the deputy president of Tsinghua University. From 1978 to 1980, Hu was a member of the Secretariat of the Communist Youth League Central Committee and was president of the All-China Youth Federation. From 1980 to 1982, he was the party secretary and the mayor of Tianjin. From 1982 to 1987, he was the director of the General Office, a member of the Secretariat, and a member of the Political Bureau of the CCP Central Committee . From 1987 to 1989, Hu served as a member of the Standing Committee, the Political Bureau, and the Secretariat of the CCP Central Committee. Tiananmen Square protests On 15 April 1989, after the death of former General Secretary Hu Yaobang, Beijing university students began to assemble in Tiananmen Square to protest. This was the beginning of the Tiananmen Democracy Movement. General Secretary Zhao Ziyang thought that the government should talk with the student protestors. As