By Stephen McDonell in Anhui, China
“He was a great leader who has remained in our hearts,” says a man who has come to pay his respects to Li Keqiang, China’s popular former premier who died last week.
Flowers in hand, he and his son walk up to Li’s childhood home on Hongxing road in the city of Hefei. The footpaths are covered in a sea of flowers. Crowds of mourners have been gathering since the 68-year-old suddenly died in Shanghai of a heart attack.
“He visited our textile factory and it left a deep impression,” says the man. Li was from the same province as him, Anhui, he added: “It’s too sad. I can’t accept it.”
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This is the best summary I could come up with:
“He was a great leader who has remained in our hearts,” says a man who has come to pay his respects to Li Keqiang, China’s popular former premier who died last week.
But Li’s passing has provided a window to acknowledge his vision for the country and his seemingly more open and moderate approach to politics - which many see as a sharp contrast to Xi’s hard-line style.
Two young women in their 20s can barely be heard over the shouts telling them to leave, as they try to explain the gratitude and love they wanted to express towards Li.
Like in Hefei, the regional capital, the home of Li’s ancestors in the village of Jiuzi is surrounded by thousands of flowers, bunched together in black plastic for the occasion.
Chickens and birds can be heard above the shuffle of feet and quiet words as people bow in front of the thatch-roofed, mud-walled house where Li spent time as a child.
Two women who’ve brought their small daughters to place flowers acknowledge this - one of them describes him as “considerate” towards the country’s poor and its millions of migrant labourers.
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