China mourns death of former Premier Li as body cremated

China on Thursday mourned former Premier Li Keqiang who died of a heart attack last week, with flags flown at half-mast at Tiananmen Square and various other locations as his body was cremated in Beijing.

While extolling the achievements of Li, who died aged 68 around seven months after serving as premier for 10 years, Chinese authorities tightened security to prevent an outpouring of sympathy from turning into criticism of President Xi Jinping, who is widely believed to have sidelined him.

Li died in Shanghai on Friday and his body was transferred to Beijing aboard a special flight later that...