China's Jiang appears on TV after death rumours

Mr Jiang (right) talked to his successor, Hu Jintao

China's ex-President Jiang Zemin has appeared in public for the first time since rumours spread that he was dead.

Mr Jiang, said to remain an influential political figure, appeared with other leaders to mark the 100th anniversary of the Chinese emperor's overthrow.

Aged 85, he looked frail, but was smiling as he chatted to his successor on the live TV broadcast.

State media issued a rare denial after a Hong Kong television station reported in July that Mr Jiang had died.

Mr Jiang led China in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 and handed over to the current president and party leader, Hu Jintao, in 2002.