China's 'Father of Rural Reform' Dies Aged 102

(Beijing) – Du Runsheng, an academic known as the "father of China's rural reform," died aged 102 in the capital on October 9.

Du died of multiple organ failure at Beijing Hospital, said one of his former students. He lived at the hospital for several years before his condition deteriorated on October 8, the former student said.

Du was best known for drafting an annual Communist Party paper on rural development, called the No. 1 Central Document, from 1982 to 1986, while he was the director of the Rural Policy Research Office under the Central Committee.