A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman declined on Friday to comment on allegations from foreign media about the ouster of Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu, who has not appeared in public for two weeks.
“I am not aware of the situation you mentioned,” Mao Ning said at a news conference after being questioned about the matter by a journalist.
Li Shangfu’s absence raised questions about his whereabouts and situation, which are similar to those of previous Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, who went missing for a month and was eventually removed from office without explanation.
Li was last seen at a China-Africa security forum held on August 29, shortly after visiting Moscow and Minsk to meet senior officials from Russia and Belarus.
According to the Financial Times newspaper, North American sources believe the minister is under house arrest while he is the target of investigation.
US Ambassador to Tokyo Rahm Emanuel said on the social network X that Li had missed a meeting he had scheduled with the head of Singapore’s armed forces.
Li’s name continues to appear on the Defense Ministry portal and there have been recent mentions of the minister on the Asian country’s social media.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry portal removed most mentions of Qin Gang a month after his disappearance.
Qin, the former Chinese ambassador to the United States, was promoted last December and stopped appearing in public on June 25, after months of frenetic activity fueled by China’s reopening after three years of its ‘zero covid’ policy .
The Chinese Communist Party (PCC) removed him from office without providing any explanation, sparking all kinds of speculation, whether about health problems, an alleged extramarital affair with a television host or a political purge after months of struggle within the Chinese power.
Li’s absence comes about a month after the dismissal of two generals from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force.
Source: DN
