Former China chief justice passes away

BEIJING -- Zheng Tianxiang, formerly the president of China's Supreme People's Court (SPC), died in Beijing on Thursday after treatment failed, according to a statement from the central authorities of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Zheng, 99, was praised in the statement as an excellent Party member, a time-tested and loyal communist soldier, a proletarian revolutionary and an outstanding leader in the country's political and legal work.

In addition to the post of SPC president, Zheng also served as a member of the CPC Central Advisory Commission in the 1980s.