(TibetanReview.net, Mar01’24) – China said Feb 27 that the resignation from the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC) by the months-long disappeared former foreign minister Qin Gang had been accepted, without any information on his whereabouts or current status. China also said Feb 27 that it’s also months-long disappeared defence minister Li Shangfu had been removed from the Party Central Military Commission (CMC).
“Tianjin Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee has decided to accept Qin Gang’s resignation as a delegate to the 14th NPC,” reported China’s official Xinhua news agency Feb 27. The decision came ahead of the opening of the NPC’s 2024 session on Mar 5.
Qin, China’s former envoy to the United States, took the office of foreign minister in Jan 2023. He disappeared from public view in Jun 2023 and was formally banished from his position as a state councilor in October.
Qin rose to power due to his personal relationship with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and his downfall has left many questions unanswered. Some experts have even described him as Xi’s most loyal servant, noted newsweek.com Feb 27.
Beijing has yet to officially explain Qin’s dismissal as foreign minister, after he was removed from the post only six months into the role. The mystery around Qin’s disappearance since June continues as various theories about his fate have been put forward, the report noted.
Meanwhile, it is also not clear when exactly Li Shangfu was removed from China’s key military command body, said the scmp.com Feb 27.
Li, who had not been seen in public since late Aug 2023, was removed as defence minister and state councillor without explanation at a meeting of the NPC Standing Committee in Oct 2023. He had only been in the post for months.
The CMC is a parallel system for the party and the state, with the same membership. Li had already been removed from the state CMC in October, the report noted.
It added that Li is still a member of the party’s Central Committee and retains his seat in the legislature.
Last year also saw a number of senior generals being removed from their commands, prompting speculation that President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive was deepening in the military. They included the leadership of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force who are responsible for the country’s nuclear arsenal.
Nine of those commanders were also stripped of their seats in the legislature in Dec 2023, with the NPC saying this month that they were suspected of “violations of discipline and the law”, usually a euphemism for corruption, the report noted.
Also, the fate of Li’s predecessor Wei Fenghe remains uncertain after he did not appear on a list of senior officials who received Lunar New Year greetings from the leadership – a common courtesy. Wei has not been seen in public since then.
Besides, the new Defence Minister, Dong Jun, a former head of the navy, has not yet been given the rank of state councillor or a seat on the CMC, something all previous defence ministers have received, the report noted.