Heart Attack While Swimming? Delayed Announcement of Li Keqiang's Death... "Chinese Leadership Seems Shocked"

Preparing Obituary in Advance for Hospitalized Chinese Leadership
Li Keqiang's Death Announcement Released Only After 10 Hours

Former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang passed away in Shanghai on the 27th, with claims emerging that he died of a heart attack while swimming.

On the 28th, the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported, citing multiple sources, that former Premier Li died of a heart attack while swimming at the Dongzhao Hotel in Shanghai. It is known that Li had previously undergone coronary artery bypass surgery.

The photo shows former Prime Minister Lee delivering a speech at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on September 30, 2021.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

According to sources, "Former Premier Li was visiting Shanghai this week and was staying at the Dongzhao Hotel," adding, "He was urgently transported to the nearby Su Guang Hospital by his personal security and medical staff after the heart attack."

Chinese state media announced that former Premier Li was pronounced dead around 12:10 a.m. on the 27th. His body was transported to Beijing on the day of his death. Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.

A security staff member at the Dongzhao Hotel where former Premier Li stayed told SCMP, "We were instructed to suspend operations until further notice." Another security staff member stated that the hotel entrance was filled with police on Friday morning following Li’s death.

China Central Television (CCTV), a state broadcaster, briefly reported Li’s death around 8:16 a.m., stating that an official obituary would be released later. However, SCMP analyzed that "it took 10 hours for the Chinese leadership to officially announce the obituary," suggesting that the top leadership appeared to be taken aback by former Premier Li’s death.

China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency released an official obituary document signed by the Communist Party’s top leadership around 6:30 p.m. on the 27th, China time. The obituary, about 2,500 characters long, detailed Li’s achievements and his contributions to the Party and the country.

Political commentator and former Shanghai University of Political Science and Law professor Chen Daoyin told SCMP, "It seems the top leadership was unprepared for the obituary," adding, "The leadership was completely surprised by Li Keqiang’s death." He cited that Chinese state media usually prepare the full obituary for Party leaders in advance during their illness, but Li’s official obituary was significantly delayed compared to the time of death.

He further explained that the brief death announcement by state media in the morning was "to eliminate any possible conspiracy theories arising from the delayed death announcement," adding, "The authorities will never disclose detailed information related to former Premier Li’s death. However, the fact that they announced what could be disclosed and have begun funeral preparations shows efforts to manage the situation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.