Biden did not order US flags at half-staff as 'tribute to China's late premier Li Keqiang'
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on November 13, 2023 at 06:09
- 3 min read
- By AFP Hong Kong
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"US President Joe Biden ordered flags to be lowered in tribute to Li Keqiang's death," reads a post shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, on October 28.
The post, written in Chinese, has more than 290,000 views.
It shows a photo of a US flag flying half-mast at the White House, with Chinese text overlaid that says: "Biden's order: lower flags to half-staff".
"According to AFP and CNN, a statement published on the White House website on 26th, US President Joe Biden..." the text continues, without showing the end of the sentence.
Chinese state media announced that Li Keqiang had died from a heart attack in Shanghai at just 68 years old on October 27 (archived link).
A career bureaucrat who spoke fluent English, Li voiced support for economic reforms during his time in office.
During his 10-year tenure as premier under President Xi Jinping, he cultivated an image as a more modern official compared to his stiffer colleagues.
His tenure saw a shift from the more consensus-based rule associated with former leaders to the concentrated power of Xi.
Following his death, authorities were on high alert for any hints that public mourning for Li could translate into criticism of the current leadership.
The photo of the US flag being lowered surfaced in similar posts on X and Facebook.
Queen tribute
A search on the White House's website found no presidential proclamation honouring the former Chinese premier (archived link).
As of November 13, AFP found no news reports of Biden ordering flags to be flown at half-staff in tribute to Li.
The president did, however, express his condolences for Li's death in a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on October 27 (archived link).
Meanwhile, the AFP and CNN reports on October 26 referenced in the false posts did not mention the US president ordering flags to be lowered to half-mast for Li.
The respective news articles here and here instead showed that Biden ordered the flag to be flown at half-mast at the White House until October 30, and at all public buildings and grounds as a show of respect for the victims of a mass shooting in Maine (archived link).
Further keyword and reverse image searches on Google and TinEye found the original photo published by The Associated Press (AP) news agency on September 9, 2022 (archived link).
The photo is captioned: "The American flag is lowered to half-staff over the U.S. Capitol, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington, after Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's longest-reigning monarch and a rock of stability across much of a turbulent century, died Thursday after 70 years on the throne. She was 96."
Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo shared in false posts (left) and the AP's photo (right):
On September 8, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II died aged 96 in her Scottish summer residence following nearly a year of ailing health.
On that day, Biden ordered the flags of the United States to be lowered to half-staff at all public buildings and grounds, including the White House, as a sign of mourning "as a mark of respect for the memory of Queen Elizabeth II" until the sunset of the day of interment (archived link).
The White House expressed its deep sympathies and paid tribute to the late monarch as one of the United States' strongest allies.
AFP has debunked more misinformation about Li's death here.
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