China's Communist Leader, Mao Zedong Dies

By Hillary Ponce 

Beijing Weekly; September 16 ,1976

BEIJING— Mao Zedong had died last week, September 9, 1976 in building 202. Chairman Mao had died from Lou Gehrig disease. Chairman Mao had been suffering with poor health for many years and unfortunately China’s first leader of the Communist party had died yesterday.

September 2, 1976 at exactly five o’clock, Mao had suffered from a heart attack, which was stronger than the first two that he had. With the disease of the Chairman had he also had problems with his lungs. Yesterday we had an interview with Dr. Cheng Wu, the doctor who was taking care of Chairman Mao. “When I was taking care of Mao, he had seen very sick. I had made Mao take some X-rays and from the results his lungs has gotten worst, the infection in his lungs had increase by a large number. It looked like his life was in danger.” said Dr.Wu.

Mao’s condition had gotten worse on the afternoon of September 7, 1976. Jiang Qing had visited the Chairman that afternoon and told us the following: “The Chairman was resting that day; he wasn’t feeling well at all. So then I couldn’t support the Chairman suffering so I insisted on rubbing his back and moving his limbs while sprinkled some powder. Dr. Wu thought that the idea would make his condition worst because of his lungs but he had let me do it.” It does not look like the treatment Jiang Qing gave Mao helped at all seeing that the Chairman is dead.

When Jiang Qing did her treatments on the Chairman his face turned blue. He wasn’t getting any air into his lungs. Not long after this the Chairman organs had started to fail and he had fallen into a coma. The only thing that was helping that Chairman Mao live was machines. Twelve hours later, in the midnight of September 9, 1976, doctor had decided to let the Chairman die because  it was an easy day to remember being the ninth day of the ninth month of the calendar.

It is sad that someone as important as Chairman Mao would die of a disease that made him die of a sad death. There will be a memorial service September 18 , 1976 at the Tiananmen Square, Beijing.