China seeks to stifle public grief for former premier Li Keqiang

People lay flowers outside a building where the late Chinese premier Li Keqiang lived as a child in Hefei city, Anhui province, China. Remembering Li fondly is a ‘veiled articulation of unhappiness about Xi’, says one expert. Photograph: AP

Public tributes to China’s former premier Li Keqiang, who died on Friday, are being strictly controlled as the government seeks to prevent a mass outpouring of grief that could lead to social unrest.

Li suffered a sudden heart attack in Shanghai and died in the early hours of Friday, according to Xinhua news agency.