February 1997 Death of Deng Xiaoping. Hu Jintao, designated by Deng as the “core” of the fourth generation (after Jiang Zemin, the third one) is said to have been the only Politburo member to be present when Deng Xiaoping’s ashes were scattered into the Bohai sea. July 1 1997- Hong Kong returns to China. -September 12-18, 1997 - Fifteenth Congress of the CCP. 2048 full delegates attend the meeting. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has officially nearly 58 million of members (...).