Huang's funeral was held at Babaoshan Cemetary, where all the major government leaders and revolutionaries are buried. Even disgraced former leader Zhao Ziyang was buried there, despite his opposition to the government's crackdown on June 4, 1989 and subsequent house arrest, which lasted untl his death in January 2005.
Jiang Zemin and his ailing wife made it up from Shanghai and all the way out to Shijingshan for the memorial, which makes it all the more curious that Li Peng and Qiao Shi weren't there - as Beijing residents, they didn't have nearly as far to go.
Those familiar with Li Peng will know he was the Premier under Zhao Ziyang in 1989. He was the most vocal and supportive of bringing in the military to rid Tiananmen Square of protesters. Students in the square (and people around the country) loathed Li Peng for everything from corruption to overusing government vehicles and stopping traffic for simple trips to the grocery store (Zhongnanhai hears this may have also been his wife).
Li Peng was no fan of Huang Ju, and speculation has run rampant for the reasons behind this.
As for Qiao Shi, he served as Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 1993-1998. He was previously known for his dislike of Jiang Zemin, and Huang Ju was a Jiang loyalist and member of his Shanghai clique.
They were the only two high-level officials or former leaders who were not present for the memorial.
