The dangers of Xi Jinping’s one-man rule in China are more pronounced than ever

With Li Keqiang out of the picture, the remnants of the only significant rival faction to Xi have lost their figurehead, writes Michael Sheridan. China’s president has free rein to shape his nation’s path how he wishes

Former Chinese premier Li Keqiang died of a heart attack at the age of 68 in Shanghai on Friday (EPA)

The sudden death of Li Keqiang, China’s prime minister for the last decade, will leave the country’s beleaguered band of dissenters dry-eyed at the passing of a pitiless Marxist-Leninist. One day, we may find out if his legacy was more than that.

Li died of a heart attack at the age of 68 in Shanghai on Friday, prompting a chorus of mourning on social platforms and dutiful homage in the state media. We can expect tributes from those who met him at conferences and were beguiled by a communist who spoke English and didn’t squawk slogans like a broken record.

It is not the first time a dead Chinese leader has won a posthumous reputation as a misunderstood liberal; similar eulogies for the likes of Mao Zedong’s deputy, Zhou Enlai, and for a 1980s reformer, Hu Yaobang, led to political unrest in Beijing itself.