Body of former CPC publicity chief cremated

BEIJING - The body of Ding Guangen, a former publicity chief of the Communist Party of China (CPC), was cremated at Beijing's Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery on Saturday.

Ding died of illness at 83 years of age on the morning of July 22 in Beijing.

President Hu Jintao, top legislator Wu Bangguo, Premier Wen Jiabao, and other senior leaders including Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang paid their final respects to Chen at the cemetery.

Ding was an alternate member of the Political Bureau and member of the Secretariat of the 13th CPC Central Committee. He was also a member of the Political Bureau and member of the Secretariat of both the 14th and 15th CPC central committees.

Ding was lauded in an official statement as "an excellent Party member and long-tested, loyal Communist, as well as a prominent leader for the CPC's cause of publicity, ideology and culture."