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China flag flies at half-mast for Tiananmen crackdown leader

BEIJING: The Chinese flag is flying at half-mast at Tiananmen Square today in honor of late former premier Li Peng, a hardliner in the crackdown on protesters who occupied the Beijing landmark in 1989.
Li, who died of an unspecified illness at age 90 last week, was reviled by activists as the Butcher of Beijing for his role in the military’s brutal suppression of pro-democracy demonstrations on 4th June, 1989.
But he was eulogized in state media following his death as a “tested and loyal communist soldier” who “took decisive measures to stop the turmoil” 30 years ago.
At Tiananmen on Monday, soldiers at the daily flag-raising ceremony raised the red banner to half-mast as hundreds of tourists looked on under rainy skies in the capital.
“He was a man of strong will,” said a man visiting from central Shaanxi province.
The Chinese national flag was also flown at half mast in Hong Kong, where large gatherings are held every year in memory of the victims of the 1989 crackdown.
The former British colony has been rocked for two months by increasingly violent protests that have directly challenged Beijing’s authority over the global financial hub.
The official Xinhua news agency said Li’s body would be cremated in Beijing on Monday. The flag will also fly at half-mast at the imposing Great Hall of the People next to the square, as well as other government buildings, airports and Chinese embassies.

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M M Alam

M. M. Alam is a Pakistan-based working journalist since 1981. Karachi University faculty gold medalist Alam began his career four decades ago by writing for Dawn, Pakistan’s highest circulating English daily. He has worked for region’s leading publications, global aviation periodicals including Rotors (of USA) and vetted New York Times as permanent employee of daily Express Tribune. Alam regularly covers international aviation and defense-related events including Salon Du Bourget (France), Farnborough (United Kingdom), Dubai (UAE). Alam has reported thousands of events and interviewed hundreds of people in Pakistan, UAE, EU, UK and USA. Being Francophone Alam also coordinates with a number of French publications.