Hu Dehua, son of popular former CCP CC General Secretary Hu Yaobang who died of a heart attack on 15 April 1989, told the South China Morning Post on the eve of his father's 25th death anniversary that over the past 25 years there had been inadequate progress in political reform and there was continued lack of protection for press freedom. He said that Hu Yaobang believed political reform had to go hand-in-hand with economic reform and, a year before he was purged in 1987, was planning a draft law to safeguard press freedoms.

Hu Dehua was quoted as saying "When you have no law to protect these rights, everything is in the hands of the officials. Although we have a constitution which guarantees freedoms in speech and assembly… in fact, there are hardly any freedoms. We have no right to supervise [the government]." He added: "Today, corruption among officials is impossible to rein in and ethnic tension is intense. There was a window for reform then [in the 1980s] but it was missed and I don't know when the next one will come."

Separately, over the weekend, former President Hu Jintao made a surprise visit to Hu Yaobang's formal residence to pay tribute. Hu Jintao, who was a close associate of Hu Yaobang's, had maintained ties and regular contact with Hu Yaobang's family ever since 1986 and even after his death.  President Xi Jinping's father, Xi Zhongxun, was also a known key ally of Hu Yaobang.