China says ex-president death reports 'pure rumour'

China's official media said Thursday that reports claiming former president Jiang Zemin had died were "pure rumour", after days of intense speculation about his health. The state-run Xinhua news agency quoted "authoritative sources" in its report quashing the rumours but gave no other immediate details. Speculation the 84-year-old was seriously ill emerged on Friday when he failed to appear at celebrations marking the 90th anniversary of the Communist Party. His absence was conspicuous as many other retired party and national leaders -- including former prime ministers Li Peng and Zhu Rongji -- were present at the gala at the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing. On Wednesday, searches for his name and other terms such as "myocardial infarction" and "condolences" on the popular Twitter-like Weibo service were blocked, in an indication censors were stopping information from leaking out. China routinely censors online content it deems politically sensitive. This includes the health of leaders, which is considered a state secret, apparently due to concerns illness might affect the appearance of stability in the party. The Weibo searches were still blocked on Thursday, after Hong Kong and Japanese media reported the former president had died. Hong Kong broadcaster ATV announced late Wednesday that Jiang had died, citing unspecified sources and giving no details. It said it would air a special one-hour programme on Jiang but later cancelled the broadcast. The Japanese daily Sankei Shimbun also reported early Thursday that Jiang had died in Beijing, quoting "a source involved in Japan-China relations."