Li Keqiang, former Premier of the State Council (government), who was second in the Chinese Communist Party during the first and second terms of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s administration (2013-2023), passed away suddenly from heart disease on the 27th. He died at the age of 68.
China Central (CCTV) said on this day, “Comrade Li Keqiang, who was resting in Shanghai, suddenly developed heart disease on the 26th,” and added, “Rescue workers immediately tried their best to provide relief, but failed, and he died at 0:10 a.m. on the 27th. “I did it,” he said.
Former Prime Minister Lee is evaluated as President Xi’s last competitor. Since former Premier Li, no one in China’s core power has said anything bitter about President Xi. Former Prime Minister Li competed fiercely with President Xi in 2012 for the position of supreme leader to succeed then-President Hu Jintao, but was eventually pushed out.
The power division system, in which the party general secretary and president takes charge of politics, diplomacy, and defense, and the prime minister oversees the economy, has become meaningless as power is concentrated in President Xi. During those 10 years, former Prime Minister Li emphasized a free market economy, but President Xi insisted on a socialist controlled economy with the Communist Party at the forefront, leading to conflict.
Although his power was gradually disappearing, former Prime Minister Lee continued his convictions. Representative examples include the statement that there are 600 million poor people in China and the claim to revitalize the street vendor economy.
Former Prime Minister Li pointed out China’s poverty problem at a press conference in May 2020 and surprised not only China but also the world by saying, “The monthly income of 600 million Chinese people is only 1,000 yuan (about 170,000 won).” At the time, President Xi said, “We reduced the number of people living in absolute poverty from 56 million in 2015 to 5.5 million in 2019,” and emphasized, “We will achieve zero by 2020.” Former Prime Minister Lee was in direct opposition.
In June of that year, former Prime Minister Lee advocated a ‘street vendor economy’ that fully allows street vendors to solve the poverty problem, but was completely ignored. In addition, his authority and role disappeared as economic activities almost stopped due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) and quarantine became a top priority. Once called the ‘Sun of the Future’ and told that ‘the fifth generation leadership will be the era of Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang’s two-horse chariot,’ he was reduced to a ‘ghost prime minister.’ A British economist said, “He is the weakest prime minister in China’s history,” and added, “But his problem is not incompetence, but impotence.”
Former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visits the Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy and Innovation on November 2, 2015 and is laughing while looking at a statue of himself made with a 3D printer. (Joint photo reporting group) 2015.11.2 News 1 Former Prime Minister Li was born in Hefei, Anhui Province, in July 1955 and was a gifted child from a young age. Hefei Bazhong (八中), which he entered in 1968, was a prestigious university with a 4-year university entrance rate of over 80%. When the Cultural Revolution ended and the college entrance exam was revived in 1977, he passed the competition rate of 29 to 1 and was accepted into the law department of Peking University, entering the first class with the best grades. In addition to his studies, he worked hard in the student council and became close to his classmate and dissident Wang Juntao, who defected to the United States. However, he was also evaluated as having “collapsed the great democracy movement in Beijing for the sake of his political ambitions.”
Former Prime Minister Li is an economic expert who received a master’s and doctoral degree in economics from Peking University. In 1985, his book ‘Discussing the Three-Economic Structure of the Chinese Economy’ received the Sun Yefang Paper Award for Economic Science, the highest award in Chinese economics. His wife, Mrs. Chenghong (程虹), is an English scholar who majored in American naturalistic literature, and it is known that the two usually spoke in English. This can be said to be the background that led to liberal thinking. Some Korean Chinese experts compared the name of Geukgang (克强) by saying, “Softness overcomes strength” (以柔克强, Lee Yu Geukgang).
Even last year, when COVID-19 quarantine measures were the most strengthened, former Prime Minister Lee also appeared to focus on economic growth, saying, “Quarantine can only be done if the economy grows.” Last month, when former Prime Minister Li appeared at Mogao Cave in Dunhuang, Gansu Province, five months after leaving office, Chinese tourists cheered and many interpreted it as a reaction to the current difficult economic situation.
Analysis suggests that former President Hu’s unexpected exit from the 20th National Congress (Party Congress) in October last year and the death of former Prime Minister Lee, ‘Little Hu’ whom he had fostered, effectively ended the Communist Youth League, a major political force. It comes out.
When former Prime Minister Li left office in March this year, he told about 800 State Council employees, “Heaven is watching what people do.” Some Chinese netizens interpreted it as a warning aimed at President Xi’s omnipotent power.
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.