Deng Xiaoping may be frail and afflicted with ailments common to a 92-year-old, but Chinese officials declared Tuesday that their senior leader was not near death.
Rumors that the Communist Party leader's health has taken a turn for the worse have persisted since December.Last week's slide in the Hong Kong stock market - always sensitive to rumors about Deng's health and the infighting among party leaders his death will spur - revived the speculation his condition had deteriorated.
Diplomatic and Chinese sources, who refused to be identified, said they had no indications Deng's case had worsened or that Chinese President Jiang Zemin or Premier Li Peng had cut short out-of-town trips to hurry back to Beijing.
Known as the "Great Architect" of China's successful market-oriented economic reforms, Deng gave up his official titles in 1990 and has not been seen in public for three years. He is believed to have Parkinson's disease, among other ailments.
The official stance on Deng's health is that he is in fairly good condition for a man of his age. Government spokesmen deviated little from that stance in responding to queries Tuesday about Deng.
China's government has shown no signs of serious concern.
The government did send one mixed signal about Deng's health. State-run media reported high-level leaders attended a symposium Tuesday on Deng's economic theories - the type of praising activity many Chinese expect to see in the days before his death is announced.
Rumors of Deng's ill health also shook China's tiny stock markets in Shanghai and Shenz-hen, causing their indexes to shed from 7 to 10 percent of their values.