China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang has not appeared in public for four weeks. There is wild speculation about his whereabouts.
(Photo: dpa)
Beijing Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, who has not appeared publicly for a month, has been removed from office. As the state broadcaster CCTV reported, the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress voted in favor of it at a meeting on Tuesday. His predecessor Wang Yi is to take over the post again. At first there was no justification for the step.
Qin made his last public appearance on June 25, when he received Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko in Beijing. Initially, the disappearance of the 57-year-old was justified with health problems. But that was later erased from the official records.
Since then, there has been wild speculation on the Chinese networks about the whereabouts of the minister. The rumors range from affairs, spies, betrayal to the sudden death of the missing person. But the government is silent. Only the replacement of Qin was announced on Tuesday.
The case once again illustrates the opaqueness and unpredictability of the Chinese political system, whose fate is determined by the Communist Party and its leader Xi Jinping.
The increasing uncertainty of the economy and society after the arbitrary zero-Covid restrictions is likely to increase even further as a result. The government’s silence harms its attempts to restore business and social confidence.
On official occasions, Qin has already been represented by his predecessor and successor, Wang. Wang had recently risen to become the chief diplomat of the Communist Party and thus already had more influence in the Chinese system than the foreign minister.
China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang during his last public appearance with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko on June 25 in Beijing.
(Photo: AP)
Even commentators loyal to the party are now expressing irritation at Qin’s disappearance. “Everyone is worried about something but can’t say it publicly,” journalist Hu Xijin wrote on the social network Weibo ahead of the announcement of Qin’s departure. It is also noteworthy that the rumors about Qin’s whereabouts in China’s social media are not censored.
Not first disappearance in China
Qin is considered a protégé of head of state and party leader Xi Jinping, which makes the case politically particularly sensitive. Under Xi’s aegis, he had risen quickly. In March he was appointed foreign minister, although there were more experienced aspirants.
Again and again, high-ranking cadres or prominent business leaders disappear in the dictatorship, mostly not voluntarily. It is not uncommon for it to become known only months later that an investigation is being carried out against them. In February, for example, there was no trace of the well-known investment banker Bao Fan for weeks. It was later said that he was in custody and assisting the authorities in unspecified investigations.
In late 2020, Alibaba founder Jack Ma had not been seen in public for several months after authorities banned the IPO of financial subsidiary Ant and launched investigations into the company.
Xi Jinping also disappeared from the scene a few weeks before taking office as Communist Party leader in 2012. This led to speculation that he had fallen out of favor with the party leaders.
There was never an explanation for his absence. But a short time later, Xi was appointed party leader and his competitor Bo Xilai, then Chongqing party leader, disappeared for several months. In 2013, Bo received a life sentence on corruption charges after his wife, Gu Kailai, was convicted of the murder of a British businessman.
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