China mourns the late premier Li Keqiang, with flags flying at half mast in Beijing

On Thursday, as China got ready for the late former premier Li Keqiang’s burial, flags flew at half mast in Beijing. Li Keqiang was a reform-minded bureaucrat who was originally expected to lead the nation in the future but was surpassed by Xi Jinping. Less than a year after resigning as premier, Li passed away in Shanghai last Thursday following a heart attack at the age of only 68.

Li, a native English speaker and career bureaucrat, often contrasted his support for economic reform and liberalization with Xi’s more authoritarian and centralizing inclinations. However, Xi’s former political foe was referred to by China’s governing Communist Party as a “time-tested and loyal communist soldier” in an official obituary. Additionally, it exhorted the Chinese people to unite even more behind the party and its leadership in order to transform their “grief into strength.”

Early on Thursday, AFP photographers observed flags flying at half-mast in Tiananmen Square, downtown Beijing. Flags at half-mast will be flown at government buildings across the Chinese mainland and in the semi-autonomous areas of Hong Kong and Macau, according to state news agency Xinhua. Later in the day, Li will be cremated in a ceremony that most likely the nation’s senior officials will attend.

During his tenure as premier, the more consensus-based governance of previous leaders gave way to Xi’s consolidated dominance. Furthermore, it was believed that Beijing’s increased control over the economy had caused him to abandon his reformist goal, as seen by the nomination of Li Qiang, an ally of Xi, as his successor.

Li Keqiang’s statement from late 2022, in which he maintained that China’s reform and opening-up path could not be halted, became popular after his passing. Users of the internet cited Li when they said, “The Yangtze River and Yellow River will not change course.”

The authorities have been very vigilant for any indication that the popular grief for the reformist may be seen as an attack on the existing administration. More than 20,000 comments were posted on Weibo on Thursday under a hashtag honoring Li that state broadcaster CCTV had disseminated. But only 13 were viewable, indicating that the conversation was being restricted.

The last remarks were noticeably nonpartisan, giving the late prime minister “farewell” and assuring him that he would “forever be in our hearts.” One said, “You are the one who has contributed to the country, China’s good leader, and you will always live in our hearts.” 50 comments were posted on a post about Li from the Communist Youth League of Fujian province elsewhere on the internet, none of which could be seen.