2005 in the People's Republic of China

Events in the year 2005 in the People's Republic of China.

Incumbents

• President – Hu Jintao
• Premier – Wen Jiabao

Events

March

• March 14 – Anti-Secession Law: The People's Republic of China ratifies an anti-secession law, aimed at preventing Taiwan from declaring independence.^[1]

April

• April 11 – Anti-Japanese demonstrations in China: 20,000 protesters marching in two cities in southern Guangdong province objecting to a recently amended Japanese schoolbook which allegedly glosses over Japan's imperialist past.^[2]
• April 18 – 2005 anti-Japanese demonstrations: Sino-Japanese relations worsen after a meeting between Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, and Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura in Beijing. China continues to refuse an apology for the increasing number of anti-Japanese protests, and further accuses Japan for handling the issues of history and Taiwan "incorrectly".^[3]

August

• August 18 – Peace Mission 2005, the first joint China–Russia military exercise, begins its 8-day training on the Shandong peninsula.

October

• October 12 – The second Chinese spacecraft, Shenzhou 6, is launched, carrying Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng for 5 days in orbit.

November

• November 13 – Jilin chemical plant explosions 2005: a series of explosions occurred in a chemical Plant in Jilin City. The explosions killed six, injured dozens, and caused the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents.^[4] During the incident a large discharge of nitrobenzene went into the Songhua River. Levels of the carcinogen were so high that the entire water supply to Harbin city (pop 3.8M) was cut off for five days between November 21, 2005 and November 26, 2005.^[5]

Deaths

• January 17 – Zhao Ziyang, Chinese premier (b. 1919)
• April 24 – Fei Xiaotong, a pioneering Chinese researcher and professor of sociology and anthropology (b. 1910)
• July 2 – Gu Yue, Chinese actor (b. 1937)
• July 6 – Huang Kun, a well-known Chinese physicist (b. 1919)
• August 7 – Li Lili, Chinese film actress (b. 1915)
• August 18 – Gao Xiumin, well-known Chinese comedy actress (b. 1959)
• August 30 – Fu Biao, famous Chinese actor (b. 1963)
• October 17 – Ba Jin, Chinese writer (b. 1904)
• October 26 – Rong Yiren, the Vice-President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 1998 (b. 1916)
• December 23 – Yao Wenyuan, Chinese politician (b. 1931)

See also

• 2005 in Chinese film
• Chinese Super League 2005
• Hong Kong League Cup 2005–06

References