[3] A speech written by Li in May 1989 criticizing the student protests and implicitly criticizing General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Zhao Ziyang (a reformer who sympathized with the demonstrators and was ultimately purged from power) was passed on to mid-level party officials with instructions that it be studied and then passed down to local units.
The New York Times reported that some of these officials balked at passing the speech to lower levels or did not fully comply with the terms of the request.
As reported in the Tiananmen Papers, published in 2001, Li and Chen foreclosed the option of negotiating with the students by describing the protests as an "anti-party and anti-Socialist political struggle".
[6] He was vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the 8th National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, which was in session from 1993 to 1998.
[5] A statement released by the CCP announcing his death described Li as "an outstanding CPC member, a long-tested and loyal Communist fighter and an excellent leader in his work".