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| 1998, March 17 |
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| China's parliament (the National People's Congress) elected Zhu Rongji as the country's new premier. | 1 |
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| June 25–July 3 |
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| U.S. president Clinton made a prolonged visit to China and appeared on national television as he criticized China for human rights abuses and asked leader Jiang Zemin to open up and democratize Chinese society. | 2 |
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| Sept. 10–19 |
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| The Chinese government extinguished the fledgling China Democracy Party, sentencing three party leaders to prison terms on charges of subversion. | 3 |
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| May |
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| In a measure praised by Western economists, Prime Minister Zhu Rongji installed a broad program to liberalize China's economy by privatizing state-run businesses. | 4 |
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