The mystery surrounding the fate of China’s former foreign minister has intensified, as references to him that had previously been scrubbed from the foreign ministry’s website started to reappear.
Articles about Qin Gang’s activities were removed from the foreign ministry’s website after he was replaced by his predecessor, Wang Yi, on Tuesday. Qin, who has not been seen in public for a month, remained as a state councillor, leading to confusion about what, if any, disciplinary action was being taken against him.
But early on Friday morning Beijing time, articles about Qin’s final activities as foreign minister reappeared online. The last report is from 25 June, when he met his Vietnamese counterpart in Beijing.
A report about Qin’s meeting with US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, also reappeared, having been temporarily removed.
It is unclear why the foreign ministry has gone back and forth. On Twitter, China watcher Bill Bishop speculated: “Maybe as simple as someone realized that full erasure of a foreign minister was a bad look externally and domestically?”
Qin has not performed official duties since 25 June, cancelling a planned meeting with the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, among other appointments. Wang, China’s top diplomat, has been attending international summits, such as the Asean foreign ministers’ meeting in Jakarta, in Qin’s place.
At a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday, a foreign ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, repeatedly refused to answer questions about Qin, instead either referring journalists to a Xinhua report on his replacement or saying she had no information.
The day after, Mao described speculation over Qin’s whereabouts as “malicious hype” while still refusing to give any further details about the missing minister.
Mao said China had released information about Qin “in a timely manner”. “We consistently oppose malicious hype of this matter,” she said.
But the Chinese government has still not explained Qin’s absence or sudden demotion, aside from a brief reference to health issues, which observers think is increasingly unlikely.
