NEW : Foreign ministry points to Xinhua news agency report when asked about Jiang . Xinhua attributes its information to On Thursday , the Xinhua news agency denied those reports , citing `` authoritative sources . '' `` authoritative sources '' Speculation had swirled that the former president had died . As president , Jiang saw the peaceful handover of Britain from Hong Kong .
NEW : Foreign ministry points to Xinhua news agency report when asked about Jiang . Xinhua attributes its information to `` authoritative sources '' Speculation had swirled that the former president had died . As president , Jiang saw the peaceful handover of Britain from Hong Kong .