Rarely was Chinese president seen losing his cool like when Jiang Zemin visited Hong Kong in October 2000 and a Chinese journalist from Hong Kong asked him a critical question.
Jiang then launched into a long, angry speech in which he accused the journalist and the Hong Kong press as a whole of a lack of understanding and immaturity. He even broke into English, saying that the media was “too simple, sometimes naive.” The recording went around the world.
Jiang Zemin particularly enjoyed showing off his talent for performance at international meetings. He would surprise the audience with his passable English, recited American literary classics or would deliver a vocal performance. However, as extroverted as China’s president appeared during and after his term in office, he was…
