In the wake of the sudden passing of former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, the Chinese government is taking strict measures to suppress public displays of grief, fearing that they could potentially lead to social unrest. Li Keqiang suffered a heart attack and passed away in Shanghai, as reported by Xinhua news agency.
Public tributes have emerged, particularly in his hometown of Hefei, Anhui province, where hundreds of mourners have placed flowers in honor of one of their prominent figures. Social media platforms are inundated with tributes to Li, who was once considered a proponent of economic liberalization within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). However, discussions online are closely monitored to ensure they align with the official narrative, deliberately avoiding any mention of Li’s views on political or economic reform.
A leaked memo, disclosed by China Digital Times, reveals that media outlets have been directed to be vigilant about “overly effusive comments” concerning Li’s passing. Many comments referring to Li as a champion of economic reform have been swiftly removed. Even a quote from Li’s early tenure as premier – “Whatever the market can handle, let the market do more of” – was subject to censorship on Weibo.
Despite serving as China’s premier for a decade, it remains uncertain whether Li will receive an official memorial in addition to regular funeral arrangements. During the regular foreign ministry press briefing, spokesperson Mao Ning declined to provide any details on this matter.
Given that students are viewed by CCP elites as a potentially volatile demographic when it comes to protests, they have been instructed not to go beyond the official guidelines in expressing their grief. Screenshots circulating on social media show directives from the youth league committee at Hainan University, explicitly stating that students should “at most” share Li’s official obituary. The notice emphasizes that any online or offline gatherings are “strictly prohibited.”
Another directive, posted to students at the Guiyang Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, urged them to refrain from making any comments related to the “political situation” and to avoid public gatherings.
Li Keqiang initially emerged as a figure expected to embrace private enterprise and foster a flourishing free market when he became premier in 2013. However, he was gradually sidelined by China’s leader, Xi Jinping, who reasserted the CCP’s control over all aspects of the economy. For many, Li now represents a road not taken by China’s increasingly authoritarian government.
The CCP is particularly apprehensive about public reactions to the deaths of senior officials or prominent figures, as they have previously led to widespread grief that transformed into protests. This phenomenon was observed following the deaths of former Premier Zhou Enlai in 1976 and Hu Yaobang, a former CCP general secretary, in 1989.
More recently, the deaths of COVID whistleblower Li Wenliang in 2020 and victims of an apartment fire in Xinjiang in 2022 triggered public expressions of grief, with the latter resulting in the “white paper” protests that spread across several cities at the end of that year. These events haunt the memories of CCP leaders, according to Jeffrey Wasserstrom, a professor of Chinese history at the University of California, Irvine.
Many individuals have turned to Li Wenliang’s Weibo page to pay tribute to the recently departed Li Keqiang, with one post stating, “Today, it seems another truth-teller with the surname Li has departed.” Li Yuan, a columnist for The New York Times, characterizes this public outpouring of grief as “the most significant expression of emotion since the white paper movement.”
Wasserstrom added that “there is definitely a lot of discontent in some quarters about Xi Jinping, and little room to express it without taking a big risk… Expressing regret for Li’s death provides an opportunity for doing this in at least a veiled way.”
Professor Steve Tsang, the director of the SOAS China Institute, also noted that “remembering Li fondly is a veiled articulation of unhappiness about Xi.”
Given these circumstances, it appears highly unlikely that Xi will permit anything more than a modest family affair to commemorate Li.