WASHINGTON - James R. Lilley, a longtime CIA operative and later the US ambassador to China during the time of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, has died. He was 81.
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Mr. Lilley had a close relationship with former president George H.W. Bush dating to the early 1970s, when Mr. Lilley headed the CIA’s operations in Beijing and Bush was the chief of the US mission there. During the 1989 Tiananmen protests, Mr. Lilley, a stern critic of the crackdown, often sent his reports about the unfolding events directly to Bush, who was then president.
In a statement Friday, Bush called Mr. Lilley “a most knowledgeable and effective ambassador who served with great honor and distinction.’’
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is traveling in Asia, said Mr. Lilley “inspired generations of China hands.’’
Mr. Lilley, who earlier served as the ambassador to South Korea, was the ambassador to China from 1989 to 1991, “one of the most difficult periods in our bilateral relations,’’ Clinton said.