Reuters-China cremates peoples premier lowers national flag amidst outpouring of grief
November 2, 2023 3 min 540 words
中国下调了北京天安门广场的国旗，同时国内网络上掀起了一股哀思之情，这是因为中国火化了前总理李克强，他因务实、亲民的领导风格而被誉为“人民总理”。李克强是一位前经济学家和改革倡导者，在退休前担任总理长达10年，于今年三月因心脏病发逝世，享年68岁。 国家媒体表示：“为了纪念李克强同志，国旗在首都的天安门广场降半旗。” 在北京一家葬仪馆的李克强葬礼上，国家主席习近平和他的夫人，以及中共中央政治局常委会的其他六名成员和国家副主席韩正前来瞻仰遗容。这个团体默默无语地行三鞠躬，据新华社报道。 李克强的去世引发了社交媒体平台上的大量悼念，中国市民为他表示哀悼。许多悼念帖子中人们表示将永远怀念李克强，还有一些人分享了他的旧照和名言。李克强成为微博上的热门话题，悼念标签吸引了4.3亿次浏览。 这位曾被视为中共领导层候选人的李克强近年来被边缘化，分析师和外交官表示，习近平加强了对经济政策制定的控制。 李克强是一位务实的政治家，为国家民生福祉做出了巨大贡献，尤其在疫情期间，他总是冲在最前线。他的去世令人痛惜，他还相对年轻。李克强的亲民、朴实形象深受人民喜爱，他的去世标志着中国失去了一位杰出的领导者。 这一事件也引发了人们对中国政治体制和未来走向的思考，尤其是在习近平加强集中权力的大背景下。李克强的去世是中国政治舞台上的一次重大变革，对国内外的政治动态产生了深远影响。
China lowered the national flag at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Thursday amid an outpouring of grief online as the country cremated former premier Li Keqiang, known as "the people's premier" for his down-to-earth, hands-on leadership.
Li, a former economist and pro-reform leader who served as the premier for 10 years before retiring in March, died of a heart attack in Shanghai last Friday. He was 68.
"In memory of comrade Li Keqiang, flags were flown at half-mast at Tiananmen Square in the capital," state media said.
At Li's funeral at a Beijing cemetery where high-ranking officials and national heroes are laid to rest, President Xi Jinping and his wife, with the six other members of the Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee, the highest rung of political power in China, as well as Vice President Han Zheng paid their final respects.
The group stood in silence and took three bows, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Former President Hu Jintao sent a wreath to express his condolences over Li's passing, according to Xinhua.
Messages for the late premier flooded social media platforms as Chinese citizens mourned his death. Many tributes said people would remember Li, while some shared yesteryear photos and videos of Li with his quotes.
On popular social media platform Weibo, which replaced its 'like' button with a chrysanthemum flower symbolising mourning on related posts, tens of thousands of people left comments bidding Li farewell on a Thursday post by China's national broadcaster.
Li was the top trending topic on Weibo. The hashtag for his mourning drew 430 million views.
A Beijinger surnamed Gao, 39, said Li will be remembered for his contibutions to the country.
"It can be said that he has made a great contribution to people's lives, to the improvement of living standards. For the past pandemic, the premier always rushed to the front line," Gao said.
Once viewed as a Communist Party leadership contender, Li was sidelined in recent years, analysts and diplomats said, as Xi tightened his grip on economic policymaking.
"Personally, I still feel a bit unreal (about his death) because I feel like he's a good premier and suddenly he's gone. And then I also feel sad for him because he was not yet old," a 24-year-old Beijing-based lawyer by the surname Wan said.
Shanghai resident Zhang Shijun described Li as down-to-earth.
"It is also obvious that (he has done a lot for) the welfare of the people's livelihood. (He did) a lot for our people. (He is) very humble and low-key," the 34-year-old said.
Some businesses such as international coffee chain Starbucks (SBUX.O) turned their app interface black and white in mourning for Li.