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Retired leader Wu Bangguo makes rare public appearance

Former leading official is seen as key member of ex-president Jiang Zemin's "Shanghai Faction”

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Wu Bangguo (centre) visits a rapeseed farm in Jiangxi. It was the first reported public appearance of the former chairman of the NPC Standing Committee since April. Photo: Sina Weibo

The former chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Wu Bangguo, made a rare public appearance yesterday, according to a photo posted online.

The photo posted on Weibo showed Wu, 74, smiling and apparently in good spirits visiting a rapeseed farm in Wuyuan city in Jiangxi province, according to the accompanying caption. He was joined by several people, believed to be officials. The visit was not reported by state media.

Retired leaders seldom make public appearance except to attend big events such as National Day ceremonies, and such visits are often carefully calculated to deliver a message about their influence during politically sensitive moments.

Wu’s public appearance came after former ideology tsar Li Changchun visited the Shaolin Temple in Henan province on Saturday.

Last April, Wu paid a visit to the White Cloud Temple, a Taoist institution in Beijing.

Wu ranked second after former president Hu Jintao in the Communist Party hierarchy before he retired in March, 2013. He served as chairman of the National People’s Congress from 2003 to 2013, a position that made him the mainland’s chief legislator.

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