Reports regarding the missing Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu have hit the stands and some of them have claimed that the minister is being subjected to an investigation, while a top US diplomat has raised questions asking if he has been placed under house arrest.
Has Li been removed from his post?
The 65-year-old minister recently missed his meetings with Vietnamese and Singaporean defence leaders, a Reuters report said citing sources. The report added that he was last seen in public in Beijing on August 29 as he delivered a keynote address at a security forum with African nations.
A Financial Times report said that the US government is under the impression that Li is facing an investigation. The Wall Street Journal reported that he had been taken away last week for questioning and removed from his post. However, neither gave a reason behind the investigation.
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, on being asked about Li being under investigation, said she was “not aware of the relevant information”.
Earlier, China’s foreign minister, Qin Gang, was replaced in July after a prolonged period out of public view. Li and Qin both are one of China’s five state councillors, a cabinet position that ranks higher than a regular minister.
Washington’s outspoken ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel took to X, formerly Twitter, to say, “1st: Defense Minister Li Shangfu hasn’t been seen or heard from in 3 weeks. 2nd: He was a no-show for his trip to Vietnam. Now: He’s absent from his scheduled meeting with the Singaporean Chief of Navy because he was placed on house arrest???”
On being asked why Emanuel had weighed in on the issue U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that he has spoken in a “colourful manner: throughout his career.