Hong Kong mourns former Chinese premier Li Keqiang’s death, flags lowered to half-mast ahead of cremation ceremony in Beijing
- City and country flags flying at half-mast at Tamar in Admiralty, Government House, Hong Kong International Airport and all border crossings
- Schools have been asked to fly both flags as usual, according to Education Bureau notice obtained by the Post
Hong Kong mourned the death of former Chinese premier Li Keqiang by lowering flags to half mast at several sites on Thursday, ahead of a cremation ceremony to be held in the nation’s capital.
The city and country flags were flying at half-mast at Tamar in Admiralty, Government House in Central, the Hong Kong International Airport and all border crossings.
But an Education Bureau notice obtained by the Post indicates schools have been asked to fly both flags as usual.
In a reply to the Post, the bureau said it had followed government guidelines, which only required the lowering of flags at designated places.
As of Thursday morning, no mourning activities or flowers were seen at Tamar, Government House and Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong.
A plainclothes police officer stationed outside the liaison office said flowers were not allowed as staff “feared they would obstruct pedestrians”.
Hong Kong leader offers his condolences over death of former premier Li Keqiang
A homemaker, who only gave the surname Chan, said she passed by the office building with her three-year-old son this morning, but had not noticed the national flag was flying at half-mast, nor did she know the reason behind it.
But a retiree in his 60s, surnamed To, said he knew it was lowered for Li.
“I don’t know much about him,” he said. “But I think it is a common formality to lower the flags.”
The Post also approached three large mainland Chinese community associations in Hong Kong, all of which said there were no plans for resident-led mourning events.
The opening ceremony of an exhibition titled “Titian and the Venetian Renaissance from the Uffizi” at the Hong Kong Museum of Art, scheduled for Thursday, was cancelled on Wednesday night because of the mourning arrangements, the Post learned.
The Construction Industry Council also announced it would reschedule the opening ceremony of a month-long industry event, which was set for Thursday morning. A source said the decision was related to the plans for mourning and made after internal discussions.
Hong Kong announced its official arrangements on Wednesday, a day after state media reported that flags across the country, and at Chinese embassies overseas, would fly at half-mast.
Li was given the same honours afforded to former premier Li Peng, the only official of equal rank to have died in the past two decades.
All Communist Party and state leaders will bid farewell to Li Keqiang in Beijing before his cremation on Thursday. There will be no top-level memorial meeting.
According to China’s hierarchical system of formalities, only the top leaders – such as late president Jiang Zemin – are entitled to full honours, including a memorial meeting which is televised across the country.
Li, who retired as premier earlier this year, died suddenly in Shanghai in the early hours of Friday last week following a heart attack. He was 68.
Hong Kong politicians remember ‘amiable’ ex-Chinese premier Li Keqiang after death
His last visit to the city was in 2011, during which Li, then vice-premier, spoke at the University of Hong Kong and unveiled more than 30 measures to boost the city’s economy.
Local politicians have recalled Li as an “amiable” leader who was vocal in supporting the city’s status as an international financial hub and its economic integration with the mainland.
In his final work report delivered in March, Li said the central government would support Hong Kong’s economy, maintain its long-term prosperity, and ensure the financial hub was “set to thrive” again by promoting the Greater Bay Area, a plan to unite 11 southern Chinese cities into an economic powerhouse.
He also underscored the importance of upholding constitutional order in Hong Kong and the principle of “patriots” administering local affairs.
Additional reporting by Ambrose Li and Edith Lin
