国内英语新闻:Through thick and thin, late leader Deng's wife stood beside him

BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- In an unexceptional courtyard on the street behind Jingshan Hill in central Beijing, two Chinese pines stand side by side.

    This was the residence of Zhuo Lin, widow of China's late leader Deng Xiaoping. On Wednesday, she passed away, aged 93.

Deng was also 93 when he died 12 years ago.

    To complete the last trip with her beloved husband, Zhuo chose to have her ashes scattered at sea as her husband's were.

File photo shows Zhuo Lin (R) poses with her husband Deng Xiaoping in the Taihang Mountains, after they married in Yan'an. Zhuo Lin, a former consultant of the Central Military Commission General Office and widow of China's late leader Deng Xiaoping, died of illness at 12:30 p.m. July 29 after medical treatment failed in Beijing, at the age of 93

    TOGETHER THROUGH LIFE

    Born in southwestern Yunnan Province, she joined the Communist Party of China in 1938 and was a former consultant of the Central Military Commission General Office.

    She met Deng in the revolutionary shrine Yan'an in 1939 and had accompanied him throughout his extraordinary life, from the Anti-Japanese War from late 1930s to the 1940s to his dark days of repression in the "Cultural Revolution" from 1966 to 1976.

File photo shows Zhuo Lin (2nd R) reads a story for her grandson while her husband Deng Xiaoping (L) reads newspaper at their home in Beijing, after Deng retired. Zhuo Lin, a former consultant of the Central Military Commission General Office and widow of China's late leader Deng Xiaoping, died of illness at 12:30 p.m. July 29 after medical treatment failed in Beijing, at the age of 93.

Deng Xianqun, Deng's younger sister, recalled how Deng and Zhuo used to have a tacit understanding between each other.

    "My big brother didn't love talking, but my sister-in-law was just the opposite," she said.

    According to their children, Zhuo had taken care of all the details of Deng's life, including what to wear and how many sleeping pills he should take.

    In 1966, when the political storms swept Deng from power as Chinese vice premier, Zhuo was bewildered, wondering what had happened exactly and what the future would hold.

    But she chose to trust him and be with him.

    "I've been with him for so long that I'm certain he's an upright man," she told their daughter, Deng Nan.

    In 1969, Deng was exiled to eastern Jiangxi Province to work on farms.

    Deng Lin, their eldest daughter, said Zhuo often spoke of the days in Jiangxi when they dug the land, pulled weeds and spread manure.

    "Mother mostly did easy work, like cooking, as she was not very healthy," Deng Lin said.