Correct Answer :   China

Li Keqiang, the former premier of China, has died of a heart attack, less than a year after stepping down from his post as the country’s second-highest-ranking leader.

“On 26 October 2023, Li had a sudden heart attack and passed away at 00:10 on 27 October 2023 [16:10 GMT 26 October 2023] after all rescue measures failed,” the state-run Global Times reported on Friday.

The 68-year-old, who retired in March, served two terms alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping, but towards the end of his career, was politically side-lined as Xi amassed ever-greater personal power over China’s government and economy.

In the hours after Li’s death, news reports were indexed notably low in media like People’s Daily and China Daily – both considered mouthpieces of the Chinese Communist Party –  taking second or third place to articles on new infrastructure, foreign investment, and even astronauts.

David Bandurski, director of the China Media Project, said China’s leadership would probably want to take a “great deal of care” over the treatment of Li’s death, and how his contributions are remembered.

“We can see the official state media moving very slowly already, with the release of a very clipped notice only mentioning that his obituary is forthcoming,’ Bandurski told Al Jazeera. “High-level political deaths are never a personal matter in China. They are highly sensitive and treated as such because there is power and peril in remembering.”

Li’s tenure as premier and head of Xi’s cabinet proved disappointing to supporters at home and abroad who were hoping that a university-educated economist would open China’s economy even further.

Instead, his portfolio was eclipsed by the rise of Xi and a slide towards greater authoritarianism.

“Li hopelessly stood by as China took a sharp turn away from reform and opening. The wind was too strong,” Adam Ni, an independent analyst and editor of the China Neican newsletter, told Al Jazeera..

Source : Aljazeera