Less than a month after rumors of his death were reported by British newspaper The Times and in China by Guangdong-based Phoenix TV, Chinese Vice Premier Huang Ju actually died June 2 at the age of 69. Significantly, Huang's death opens up a seat on the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) for President Hu Jintao to fill with one of his own allies. As a longtime member of the "Shanghai clique" in Chinese politics, Huang's death effectively removes a Shanghai vote from China's top leadership. This only underscores Hu's success at erasing the last traces of influence of former President Jiang Zemin and his Shanghai faction from the country's highest-ranking political decision-makers.