China to lower flags at half-mast for late leader Wan Li

BEIJING - China will fly flags at half-mast to mourn Wan Li, former chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, who died in Beijing on July 15.

His remains will be cremated in Beijing on Wednesday, when flags will be lowered to half-mast at Tian'anmen Square, and Xinhuamen, the main entrance of Zhongnanhai, the seat of the Communist Party of China and the central government.

National flags at half-mast will also be seen at the Great Hall of the People, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, seats of provincial-level governments, Hong Kong and Macao, border ports and overseas embassies and consulates on Wednesday.

Wan, 99, was praised in an obituary jointly issued by the CPC Committee, NPC Standing Committee, State Council and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, as an "excellent Party member, a time-tested and loyal communist soldier, and an outstanding proletarian revolutionary, statesman and leader of the Party and the state."

He also served as secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and vice premier.