The 'Disappearance' of Qin Gang

For all my admiration of the CPC (to me, it reads the Confucian Party of China) and the Chinese government for their deliveries to the Chinese people, I still do not think highly of their international PR competency. The latest is the sudden disappearance of Qin Gang, the country’s Foreign Minister. When the world has begun to show empathy on China’s stances vis-à-vis those of the United States in most geopolitical issues, its complete silence on Qin Gang’s whereabouts reinforces China doubters of their conviction that the country lacks transparency. To them and many others, China is still very much a Stalinist state.  

Qin Gang’s rise has been most phenomenal. Born in 1966, he entered the country’s foreign service in 1992, made an ambassador in 2010 (to the United Kingdom), and became the ministry’s vice minister in 2018. In July 2021, he was named ambassador to the United States. He became the country’s youngest foreign affairs minister in December 2022 and appointed a state councilor in March 2023.

Qin Gang has all the looks and gravitas to go places. Even Western leaders have little on this extraordinary diplomat that they can find fault with. His demeanours are easy to like and advocations, logical and forceful.

He has not been seen since June 25 when he met officials from Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Russia – a

century in China’s political and diplomatic calendar!

There is literally nothing from China’s official PR apparatuses on his disappearance, save for a brief allusion to his health. COVID-19 was thought to be the cause; but it obviously cannot be, since he would have long recovered if he had indeed been infected with the disease.

Rumours are rife, especially from the Taiwan media. The most cited is the ‘fatal attraction’ that occurred in March last year, when Phoenix TV’s presenter Fu Xiaotian (傅晓田) flew to interview Qin Gang. The pretty Cambridge-educated presenter is one of the most prominent figures on Chinese television. She has recently appeared with an infant son. Who is the father, many have asked.

 

But affairs do not usually kill one’s career outright in China. In 2021, news surfaced that Zhang Gaoli (张高丽), a member of the central committee of the CPC’s Politburo, had also a fling with tennis player Peng Shuai (彭帅). Zhang has not been disgraced.

There is certainly more to it in Qin Gang’s case.

 

Taiwan commentators love conspiracy theories. A couple of other happenings in the recent weeks are to them ‘hot connections’. 

Feng Yanghe is renowned for designing China's first artificial intelligence "brain" to run military operations. The fatal accident happened at about 2:30am on 1 July in Beijing. He was only 38. Feng had made important breakthroughs in the use of AI to support military command and control operations. Was it just a traffic accident? Many have asked.

The second is the ‘mysterious’ death of Wu Guohua, the deputy commander of the PLA Rocket Force, on 6 June. And in late June, his senior and commander, Lieutenant General Li Yuchao, was found missing in a promotion ceremony of the Chinese military. The absence sparked speculation that Li might be under investigation. Apparently, America has come to possess all the details of PLA’s Rocket Force and even had an article on them published publicly.

Since all these happened around the same time, it is just natural for all of us to draw connections. A source even claimed that Wei Fenghe, China former defence minister, who also headed the Rocket Force before, is also being investigated for alleged corruption. Ditto the integrity of several key PLA officers Zhang Zhenzhong, Liu Guangbin and Shang Honga who have been associated with the Rocket Force is also being called into question.

Fu Xiaotian, who lives lavishly, is said to be under suspicion as a ‘double agent’. A source says she is aligned to forces that are still loyal to Jiang Zemin.  

The silence does not augur well for China’s image, when Taiwan will soon be holding its next presidential election. (Remember the Hong Kong riots that went on to help Tsai Ing-wen win the election?)