Deaths elsewhere

Last update: November 14, 2009 - 9:05 PM

James Lilley, 81, a longtime CIA operative in Asia who served as ambassador to China during the Tiananmen Square crackdown and was regarded as one of the most pragmatic voices on the modern Sino-American relationship, died Thursday in Washington. He had complications related to prostate cancer.

Lilley, born in China, the son of an oil man and a teacher, had a storied career as an intelligence officer in Asia. Gruff with a no-nonsense manner and a keen eye for detail that peppered his reports from the field, Lilley was singular in the fractious world of China-watching in that he was respected by Communist China as well as by Taiwan, and across the political spectrum at home.

The height of the public portion of Lilley's career came during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. He was a harsh critic of the government crackdown.

WASHINGTON POST