Former Chinese premier Li Keqiang to be cremated on Nov 2

Beijing: The cremation of former Chinese premier Li Keqiang will take place here on Thursday, an official announcement said on Tuesday, days after the acclaimed reform-minded economist died suddenly.

Li, 68 who was a contender for power against Chinese President Xi Jinping a decade ago, died of a heart attack on October 27 in Shanghai, just months after stepping down.

He was in Shanghai for rest after retiring from active politics in March this year, the state media reported.

"The remains of Comrade Li Keqiang will be cremated in Beijing on Thursday," the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Li was a contender for power against Xi to head the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) when the party leadership transition took place in 2012 but later settled for the number two position as the premier from March 2013 to March 2023.

An obituary issued by the CPC, the Cabinet and Parliament described Li's death as a huge loss.

He was extolled as an excellent CPC member, a time-tested and loyal communist soldier and an outstanding proletarian revolutionist, statesman and leader of the Party and the state.

His remains were transferred to Beijing from Shanghai aboard a special flight on October 27.

To mourn his death, national flags will fly at half-mast on Thursday at Tian'anmen Square, Xinhuamen, the Great Hall of the People, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing, seats of CPC committees and governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.

The national flags in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special Administrative Region, border ports, seaports and airports of entry, and Chinese embassies and consulates will also fly at half-mast, an official announcement here said.

Thousands of people visited Li’s childhood home in Hefei in Anhui province to mourn his sudden death just months after his retirement.

A report by the Hong Kong-based China Morning Post earlier said the government has asked student bodies of some Chinese universities not to organise private commemoration activities for Li in an apparent bid to avoid social turmoil.

Li had a reputation as a moderate reformist and won the admiration of the Chinese people for managing the economy which was in a slowdown mode during his 10-year tenure.

Though ranked number two in the ruling Chinese Communist Party hierarchy, Li was side-lined and mostly spent his years in the government focusing on the management of the economy, while Xi emerged as the most powerful leader after Party founder Mao Zedong, heading the party, the military and the Presidency.

In the past, the Chinese government had reportedly taken precautionary measures to avoid similar student protests at Tian'anmen Square in Beijing in 1989, following the death of popular moderate Communist Party chief Hu Yaobang.

Thousands were killed during the mass protests.

Li is among very few retired Chinese leaders to have died before reaching the age of 70. Most stay healthy and live well beyond 90, or even 100, their longevity attributed to the comprehensive medical care and security privileges provided to party and state leaders even after retirement, the Post report said.

The protocol for Li’s mourning puts him on a par with previous premier Li Peng who died in 2019.

This week’s funeral protocol will also follow the precedent set by Li Peng’s death, with all party and state leaders bidding farewell before the cremation, but without a top-level memorial meeting in Beijing, the Post reported on Tuesday.

In China’s strictly hierarchical system of formalities, only the top leaders – such as former president Jiang Zemin, who was afforded a state funeral in December last year – are entitled to full honours, including a memorial meeting which is televised across the country.

While China has adopted many Soviet-style proceedings for its mourning protocols, the remains of leaders usually rest at home or a funeral parlour for seven days so that family and friends can pay tribute, in line with widely followed Chinese tradition.

The CPC apparently followed precedents to show consistency to avoid any speculation that could arise from Li’s unexpected death.

Deng Yuwen, former deputy editor of Study Times, the official newspaper of the Central Party School which trains CPC cadres, said “The Central Committee’s General Office will make sure every detail follows precedence, knowing any slightest departure will cause unnecessary speculations.” “This is especially important, as people are murmuring about conspiracy theories relating to Li Keqiang’s sudden death, given the extreme opacity of elite politics in China,” he told the Post.

Political commentator Chen Daoyin, a former professor at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, said Beijing is doing everything it can to reign in the potential political risks of Li’s unexpected death.

“A proper funeral protocol is a key part of addressing the concerns of liberals. So far, it has allowed people to pay tribute to Li Keqiang freely and there has been no apparent censorship while keeping a watchful eye on the universities,” Chen said.