More than three weeks away: China’s foreign minister misses next important appointment

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Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang (57), who has not appeared in public for more than three weeks, is missing another important appointment. When asked why the minister would not attend a planned meeting of the Brics countries, a spokeswoman for Beijing’s foreign ministry said at a daily press conference on Thursday that they had “no information” about it.

The question was removed from a later published record. The ministry had already dealt with questions about Qin Gang in recent days.

Speculations about extramarital affair

The 57-year-old had his last public appointment on June 25 in Beijing. He hasn’t been seen since. On Wednesday, his ministry announced that top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi, 69, who ranks above Qin Gang in the hierarchy, will attend next week’s Brics meeting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa in Johannesburg. Wang Yi has been deputy to the foreign minister on several occasions since his disappearance.

When asked about another meeting last week, a foreign ministry spokesman said Qin Gang could not attend for health reasons. However, there was also speculation about a possible extramarital affair. A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday that she had “no information” about this. She did not repeat that the minister was ill.

Meng Hongwei disappeared while traveling

Disappearances of senior officials, celebrities and businessmen are common in China. It often turns out afterwards that they were involved in investigations or other controversies.

One of the most famous cases of recent years is the former Chinese Interpol boss Meng Hongwei (69), who disappeared in 2018 during a trip to China. Two years later, a Chinese court sentenced him to a long prison term for accepting bribes. (SDA)

Source: Blick