a CCP Political Bureau memo allegedly leaked by a source at Hainan University <…> expressly forbade students from organizing any activities, in person or online, to commemorate Li, including marches or flower-laying. Those who “must express a deep feeling” could share Li’s party obituary accompanied by—at most—the statement "in memory of the former premier

this is how tightly they control expressions of mourning for this guy, because they are so afraid it could expand into political demonstrations

There’s a famous historical precedent in the Tiananmen Incident. Not the famous one, this was in 1976. Zhou Enlai, Mao’s second in command, who was widely perceived as more moderate and competent, died. As a passive-aggressive way of protesting Mao and the chaos of his cultural revolution, the citizens of Beijing spontaneously put up over-the-top acts of mourning for Zhou. It evolved into a demonstration against the government; one that was quickly dispersed, yet such a protest was something nearly unthinkable during the Mao era. That was one of the events that led to the end of Mao’s cultural revolution.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

As premier, he oversaw the bureaucracy from 2013 until he stepped down in March 2023, and although he was once billed as a contender for the presidency, Li saw his influence dwindle as Xi consolidated power.

The death of reformist Hu Yaobang 13 years later was co-opted by student protesters in Beijing, culminating in the infamous “Tiananmen Square massacre.”

Over the weekend, video surfaced on social media showing locals flocking to Li’s childhood home in Hefei, Anhui Province, to pay their respects.

Their directions included telling flower vendors to vacate the area, but to refrain from “excessive behavior toward the masses,” presumably to avoid the risk of angering the crowd and causing an incident.

In an apparent swipe at Xi, the Mandopop song “Too Bad It Wasn’t You” by singer Fish Leong briefly circulated on China’s heavily censored social media before it was scrubbed.

Amid slowing GDP growth, a property market crisis, and high youth unemployment, some say the premier is a reminder of lost optimism.

The original article contains 602 words, the summary contains 166 words. Saved 72%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

Did Xi piss in this guy’s tea or something? Believe it or not, people can be sad that a respected statesman passed and not have an ulterior motive.