China to fly flags at half-mast for former premier Zhu Rongji’s funeral

Former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji will be cremated in Beijing on Tuesday, with flags across the country – including in Hong Kong and Macau – flown at half-mast, state media reported on Sunday.Zhu, who served as premier from 1998 to 2003 and played a pivotal role in transitioning China towards a market-based economy, died of an illness in Beijing on Wednesday at age 97.According to state news agency Xinhua, national flags will fly at half-mast on Tuesday at sites in Beijing, including Tiananmen Square, as well as at provincial government buildings, locations in Hong Kong and Macau and China’s overseas embassies and consulates.Hong Kong will fly the national and regional flags at half-staff at various government sites. The government said on Sunday it would lower the flags at government headquarters in Admiralty, Government House, all control points and checkpoints at border crossings and Hong Kong International Airport.The mourning protocols for Zhu align with those of former premiers Li Keqiang, who died in 2023 at the age of 68, and Li Peng, who died in 2019 at the age of 90.Dubbed China’s “economic tsar”, Zhu is remembered for overhauling state-owned enterprises and transforming the central planned economy.He was also the mastermind behind China’s World Trade Organization accession in 2001, an event that integrated the country into the global market and transformed its economic trajectory.