Disappearing acts of the diplomatic kind. All traces of outgoing foreign minister Qin Gang, were scrubbed from the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s website.
His predecessor Wang Yi, now taking his place.
Qin Gang’s removal and prolonged absence from the public eye has raised all sorts of questions around the Chinese communist party’s opaque system.
No reason has been given for his ouster, but speculation is rampant due to the Communist Party’s practice of purging officials since the Mao era—including from all official records.
Some note the recent rumors of Qin Gang’s affair with a well-known TV host.
Many point to Qin Gang’s being hand-picked by Chinese regime leader Xi Jinping, but noting his departure after less than seven months on the job.
Some comments online say they don’t buy the official narrative—that Qin Gang’s absence was due to quote “health reasons.”