Where is the Chinese minister of foreign affairs? This is the question millions of citizens in China are asking after Minister Qin Gang has gone three weeks without being seen in public. This is alarming because the Chinese regime has offered no information on where he might be, and in recent days there has been intense diplomatic activity in the country.
Gang, 57, is a well-known personality whose leadership is rapidly emerging. He served as China's ambassador to the United States for about a year and a half. He was then handed the job with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs seven months ago. In March, he was promoted to state councilor, the third highest-ranking position in the Chinese regime.
Speculation about his disappearance began a week ago when it was reported that he would not be present at the annual diplomatic meeting in Indonesia. According to statements by a spokesman for his ministry, as reported by Reuters, the minister's absence was due to health problems. The meeting, however, wasn't the first engagement he canceled. He was also supposed to meet with European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell earlier this month in Beijing, but that meeting was called off.
He is not the only one to go missing in China
Many people are warning about the suspiciousness of the situation. According to some journalists following the case, the strangest thing is that no information has been given about a person with so much influence within the Chinese Communist Party. "Given China's status and influence in the world, it is really very strange that its foreign minister has not appeared in public for more than 20 days," Deng Yuwen, a Chinese journalist and former Communist Party newspaper editor who now writes on Chinese foreign policy, told CNN.
The press is trying in various ways to find information on the whereabouts of the Chinese minister. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning was asked about the events on Monday and said she had no information to provide.
In the Chinese political system, when a leader goes missing, it generates speculation because it usually means something else. In fact, before taking office as president of the People's Republic of China, there were rumors about Xi Jinping's health, as he disappeared and canceled events for a few days. He then reappeared to become the leader of the regime.
Politicians are not the only ones to have disappeared. In 2021, Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai disappeared after she accused a high-ranking Chinese official of sexual assault in a social media post. She later reappeared and denied having made the accusations.
