[1] Xiang was stabbed ten times by unknown killers in the early morning on his way home in Luoyang, which is the central province of Henan, China.

Police assume the reason for Li's stabbing in Xigong District[2] was because of his interest in a "gutter" cooking oil scam, in which 32 people were caught; the last post on his microblog said web users "had complained that Luanchuan county, in Henan, has dens manufacturing gutter cooking oil, but the food safety commission replied that they didn't find any.

The IFJ has continually been pushing Meng Jianzhu, who is the Minister of the Security Bureau of China, to converse with the All-China Journalists Association to create a safety plan for media workers as well as to educate government officials and the general public on the need to respect press freedom.

Although his beat rarely involved investigative work, most of his reports sourced the procuratorate and judicial authorities.

Li had been following the story of restaurants illegally recycling cooking oil, a dangerous health hazard to diners.