{
  "id": 1254887,
  "title": "China to fly flags at half-mast for former premier Zhu Rongji’s funeral",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/16/china-to-fly-flags-at-half-mast-for-former-premier-zhu-rongjis-funeral-1254887",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-16T10:37:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Reuters Business via SCMP",
    "slug": "reuters-business-via-scmp",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3364189/china-fly-flags-half-mast-former-premier-zhu-rongjis-funeral"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "China will lower flags to half-mast in mourning for former premier Zhu Rongji, who passed away at 97 on Wednesday. The nation's flags, including those in Hong Kong and Macau, will fly at half-staff on Tuesday across locations such as Tiananmen Square, provincial government buildings, and overseas embassies. Hong Kong will also display the national and regional flags at half-staff at various government sites, including Admiralty, Government House, border checkpoints, and Hong Kong International Airport. Zhu, known as China's \"economic tsar,\" oversaw the transition to a market-based economy and led the country's entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001. His death has sparked tributes on Chinese social media, with over 20 million views as citizens pay their respects.",
  "summary": "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…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "China to fly flags at half-mast for former premier Zhu Rongji’s funeral",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/16/china-to-fly-flags-at-half-mast-for-former-premier-zhu-rongjis-funeral",
        "published": "2026-08-16T10:37:33.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}