Within seconds, the news was the most shared topic in China on the social network Weibo: Foreign Minister Qin Gang, who had disappeared under mysterious circumstances for weeks, has been removed from office. The excitement on Tuesday evening is understandable, as there has been speculation about the fate of the 57-year-old for weeks.
The last photo of the now replaced top diplomat is a month old. It shows him smiling on June 25 alongside Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko in Beijing. Since then there has been no trace of Qin Gang, although he should have fulfilled important obligations.
Is the minister sick? Is he having an extramarital affair? Or is he being investigated for corruption? The case not only caused irritation among more and more Chinese, but also representatives of other countries wondered how they should react to the disappearance.
It has at least been clear since Tuesday evening that Qin Gang is no longer foreign minister. The Standing Committee of the People’s Congress voted in favor of this at a meeting convened at short notice. His predecessor Wang Yi is to take over the post again.
At the beginning of July, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell was one of the first to feel that something was wrong. Just days before a planned meeting with Qin Gang in Beijing, the Chinese suddenly canceled. He also did not take part in a summit meeting of the foreign ministers of the Southeast Asian community of states ASEAN. Instead, China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, who, as director of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, is above the foreign minister in the hierarchy of power, attended. In the future he should now take on a double function.
Wang Yi recently represented Qin Gang at a number of meetings, including this week at a meeting of the Brics countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa in Johannesburg. When asked why Qin Gang did not attend the ASEAN meeting, a spokesman for Beijing’s foreign ministry said it was not possible for “health reasons.”
At the same time, however, speculation is circulating that Qin Gang was taken out of circulation because of an extramarital affair and a baby. When asked about the unproven rumors that the minister may have been having an affair with a journalist from Hong Kong television station Phoenix, a spokeswoman for Beijing’s foreign ministry said she had “no information” on the matter. However, she did not repeat that Qin Gang was ill. Since then, the Foreign Ministry has routinely said that they have “no information” when asked about the boss.
In the minutes of the daily press conference, which is posted every evening on the ministry’s website, questions about Qin Gang were highlighted. This secrecy is also met with criticism in China. The leadership in Beijing is pursuing a “black box approach,” says Wu Qiang, a former professor of politics at the renowned Tsinghua University. For him it is already a fact that the foreign minister is under investigation.
“Everyone is worried about something but can’t say it publicly,” wrote Hu Xijin, a commentator on the social network Weibo who is otherwise known for his nationalist tones, after Qin Gang stopped appearing publicly.
The case of the foreign minister arouses great interest. However, disappearances of senior officials, celebrities and business people are not uncommon in China. It often turns out later that they were involved in investigations or other controversies.
One of the most well-known cases in recent years is that of former Chinese Interpol chief Meng Hongwei, who disappeared in 2018 while on a trip to his native China. Two years later, a Chinese court sentenced him to a long prison term for accepting bribes.
Does Qin Gang face a similar fate? “Investigations against the person Qin and/or his network are likely given the duration of his absence,” said Nis Grünberg from the China Institute Merics in Berlin, before the replacement of the foreign minister was announced on Tuesday. But health problems could also be behind his disappearance. Whether the truth will ever come out is unclear. Information control is a top priority for Beijing, according to Grünberg.
Editor’s Note: This article will be continuously updated.
